An activist with Fathers4Justice appeared in a Westminster magistrates court on Friday, for alleged involvement in the defacing of a painting of the Queen of England.
41-year-old Tim Haires of Doncaster, Englad, was accused of hiding a can of spray paint, bringing it into Westminster Abbey and damaging the canvas.
Haires faces charges of criminal damage, totaling more than 5,000 pounds.
According to The Guardian, the court requested Haries enter a plea. But the accused said he was "not in a position" to make that decision at the time.
He was subsequently released on conditional bail. He awaits his next trail, scheduled for June 28 and has been banned from London in the interim.
Haries was taken into police custody almost immediately after the damage was done, and reportedly shouted, "Fathers4Justice!" referencing the UK-based fathers' rights organization, upon his arrest.
Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle ordered Haries stay out of London for the time being, after law enforcement officials pointed out that the activist is scheduled to participate in a Father's Day protest for Sunday.
Haries-who does not currently possess a criminal record-was silent as he exited the court room.
The oil painting, "The Coronation Theatre, Westminster Abbey: A Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," was removed after Haires allegedly painted a few words on the canvas, which depicts Queen Elizabeth swathed in royal garb, a crimson, velvet train trailing her.
"Until work can be done to remedy the damage it will-very regrettably-not be possible to have the painting on public view," the abbey said in a statement, Thursday.
The portrait has been valued at 160,000 pounds and commemorates' the Queen's diamond jubilee, The Guardian reported.
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