Smith had been collecting banners for protesters in Trafalgar Square when he was stopped by police, according to the newspaper. Guardian.
Republic is an organization that seeks to replace the monarch with an elected head of state.
Spokesmen for the organization told the AFP agency that six of the activists have been arrested during the protests this Saturday, prior to the start of the coronation ceremony in Westminster.
“They were picking up the banners and taking them away when the police stopped them,” said Harry Stratton, a member of Republic, who arrived when Smith and the others were detained.
Members of the organization were collecting the banners from a vehicle when they were detained.
“The guys asked why and they said: we’ll tell you that once we’ve searched the vehicle. That’s when they arrested six organizers. We asked them for what reason they had been arrested, but they didn’t answer. It’s a surprise since we had had several meetings with the police. They had been making all the right noises,” Stratton added.
The organization for the defense of human rights Human Rights Watch condemned on Saturday the “alarming” arrest by the London police of several activists who intended to demonstrate against the coronation of Carlos III.
“It’s something we would expect to see in Moscow, not London,” said Yasmine Ahmed, director of HRW UK, describing the arrest of around twenty people as “incredibly alarming.” “Peaceful protests allow those in power to be held to account, something the UK government seems to be increasingly reluctant to do,” she added.
In addition to the Republic activists, some twenty members of the environmental group Just Stop Oil have also been arrested and handcuffed, according to a report by the French agency.
On Wednesday May 3, three days before the coronation of Carlos III, a new Law of Public Order came into force that expands the powers of the British police in the face of protests and demonstrations.
The legislation establishes penalties of up to six months in prison and unlimited fines for those who chain themselves to objects or buildings as a protest measure, and twelve months for those who “interfere with key infrastructures such as highways, airports, and train tracks.”
With information from AFP and EFE