Fathers 4 Justice
British fathers' rights advocacy group
Fathers 4 Justice (F4J) is a fathers' rights organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2003, the group aims to gain public and parliamentary support for changes in UK legislation on fathers' rights mainly by staging stunts and protests, often conducted in costume.
History
F4J was founded in the UK by Matt O'Connor, a marketing consultant. He is the sole shareholder and a director of Fathers For Justice Limited.
Activities
2003
On 21 October 2003, campaigners Eddie "Goldtooth" Gorecki and Jonathan "Jolly" Stanesby scaled the Royal Courts of Justice in London while dressed respectively as Batman and Robin. The following day, the group's members protested through London in a military tank in support of Goreckwi and Stanesby. Nine days later, David Chick climbed a 120 feet (37 m) crane near Tower Bridge while dressed as Spider-Man. The Metropolitan Police subsequently set up a cordon around the area that disrupted traffic through some of East London for several days. Chick was later cleared of criminal charges.
2004
In 2004, Stanesby carried out a "citizen's arrest" of the then-Minister of State for Children Margaret Hodge at a conference, handcuffing himself to her and stating: "Margaret Hodge, I'm arresting you for covering up child abuse." Both Stanseby and Jason Hatch (who had also attempted to handcuff himself to Hodge) were later cleared of false imprisonment charges by a jury.
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