Raise the Colours Founder Charged With Racially Aggravated Harassment & Common Assault

The founder of a prominent activist group known for erecting Union Jack and St George’s Cross flags on public infrastructure has been charged with a series of public order and hate crime offences following a police investigation in Oxfordshire.

Ryan Bridge, 45, who established the Raise the Colours campaign, faces 14 separate criminal charges stemming from alleged incidents occurring over a two-month period earlier this year.

Thames Valley Police confirmed that Mr Bridge, of Blackwell, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, has been charged with one count of racially aggravated fear of violence and two counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress under the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The defendant further faces three counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of, or provoke, unlawful violence under Section 4 of the Public Order Act 1986.

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Police prosecutors have additionally charged Mr Bridge with seven counts of using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, alongside one count of common assault.

The defendant is due to make his initial appearance at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 3 November, where formal pleas are expected to be entered.

The charges follow an extensive campaign led by Mr Bridge since last summer, involving the mounting of national flags on highway lampposts across the Midlands and southern England.

The criminal proceedings arise alongside ongoing civil litigation brought by local authorities seeking to curb the group's street activities.

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Oxfordshire County Council previously obtained a High Court injunction restricting the placement of flags on highway structures, citing statutory duties regarding public safety, trespass, and highway obstruction.

Birmingham City Council has launched parallel civil proceedings, with an application for a similar High Court injunction scheduled for hearing on Tuesday.