Twenty-one people who were arrested at King Charles III’s coronation will face no further action, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Thursday.
The Met said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which decides whether to bring charges in England and Wales, had told them there was no realistic chance of a conviction.
The arrests on May 6, including of republican protesters opposed to the monarchy, caused outrage and widespread condemnation from rights groups.
Those detained were held under controversial powers rushed through parliament after repeated direct action protests by environmental activists — and fears the same could happen at the showpiece event.
Officers said at the time that they arrested 64 people on the day, including three members of a local council-run women’s safety group — that the Met itself sponsored — for carrying rape alarms.
The Daily Mail newspaper had previously claimed that protesters were planning to throw rape alarms to spook military horses taking part in the coronation parade.
Of the 64, 55 people have now been released without further action.
Six have been charged, two have been released pending further investigations and one person was fined, the Met said.
The force said the groups were arrested “in order to prevent a breach of the peace and on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance”.
Their cases were referred to the CPS in August.
But the force said on Thursday: “After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors have concluded that there is no realistic prospect of conviction and as a result no further action is to be taken.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said officers had received intelligence “that indicated activists were plotting to target the procession”.
“We had real concerns that such efforts would not only disrupt a once-in-a-lifetime event of enormous national significance, but that they could also compromise the security and safety of participants and the wider public.”
The head of anti-monarchy group Republic, who was arrested with five other members, said last month he was suing police for wrongful arrest.
Graham Smith wants a judicial review of the decision to hold him, and demanded a full apology and acknowledgement “that the Met got it wrong”.
“There were no grounds for detaining us, searching us or arresting us. It was an appalling attack on the rights of peaceful protesters,” he added.
The six Republican members were released after more than 16 hours and then told they would face no further action.
