A large and defiant crowd gathered on 8 August at a police roadblock outside Chevening House to protest the presence of US vice president JD Vance. They were there to condemn his visit as a symbol of complicity in war crimes – and highlight the UK government’s deepening crackdown on dissent.

Local residents from Sevenoaks and surrounding areas organised the protest. They expressed their outrage at what they described as the UK’s “open-door policy for war criminals”, while the state arrests, surveils, and silences peaceful demonstrators.

Genocidal JD Vance welcome in the UK? Not a chance

While JD Vance is believed to have arrived quietly at around 8.30am, the crowd built throughout the morning. They occupied the road and physically blocked access to the estate with banners. The crowd forced multiple vehicles attempting to gain entry to reverse:

The protest was loud and sustained, with chants amplified through megaphones and the banging of pots, pans, and samba drums:

Demonstrators repeated:

UK welcome, no chance – genocidal J.D. Vance!

They also shouted:

David Lammy, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide!

A bold banner stretched across the roadblock read:

Fascism = Terrorism. J.D. Vance Out.

Police were on the scene and monitored the situation, but made no arrests:

War criminals not welcome for fancy lunches while Israel starves Gaza

Lucy, a 44-year-old local resident, said of the JD Vance protest

Sevenoaks does not welcome a war criminal for a fancy lunch at Chevening, hosted by another war criminal.

While children in Gaza are being starved and bombed, these men sit behind gates and toast their foreign policy. It’s not diplomacy – it’s a grotesque performance of power, drenched in blood. And the rest of us are told to stay quiet or face arrest. We will not.

Sean, 30, from London, said:

Peaceful protesters are being arrested, threatened with terrorism charges, and labelled extremists – simply for standing up against genocide.

Meanwhile, politicians like J.D. Vance are welcomed with full diplomatic honours. The UK is criminalising conscience while hosting war criminals. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide – and our government is helping fund and defend it. That’s the reality we’re protesting.

The protest also comes in the wake of the UK government’s controversial proscription of Palestine Action, a non-violent direct action group, under terrorism legislation. Critics have condemned the move as a grave attack on civil liberties.

In response, a mass protest is planned in Parliament Square, London, on Saturday 9 August. Hundreds are planning to peacefully hold placards reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action”.

Government ministers and the Metropolitan Police have issued public warnings of potential arrests at the event. Human rights organisations including Amnesty International and Liberty have condemned the threats, warning that the right to protest is under serious attack in the UK.

Organisers of the JD Vance action said the message is simple: if the government can host those accused of enabling mass atrocities, it must accept the consequences of public outrage.

Neither the US delegation nor the UK Foreign Office has responded to requests for comment.

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