Image of far right rioters via X
By Global News Service
Anti-fascist groups in Britain are preparing for mobilizations against the far-right. Far-right groups have recently incited a series of violent rallies across England, exploiting the public discourse after three children were tragically killed in a stabbing in Southport in northwest England.
Exploiting the town’s mourning, far-right groups have cynically manipulated the narrative surrounding the event into their hate-driven, racist, and Islamophobic discourse. Hundreds traveled to Southport and other towns in the north following vigils held for the killed children, only to spark violent riots. The rioters surrounded and attacked mosques with people inside, set police vehicles ablaze, and vandalized local shops.
In the aftermath of the far-right destruction in Southport, reports started to circulate about attacks against BIPOC community members in other areas. Safety concerns remain high throughout the country, with non-Christian places of worship placed under police protection. In Liverpool, anti-racists surrounded mosques to express support and shield them from potential attacks. On the night of August 2 in Sunderland, far-right rioters set fire to a Citizens Advice office, an organization that provides free advice on social security and legal matters.
The escalation was at least partly fueled by misinformation on the Southport event shared on social media, falsely identifying the accused stabber as an asylum seeker, an undocumented migrant, and a Muslim—targets consistent with the Islamophobia promoted by fascist organizations like Patriotic Alternative and figures like the founder of the England Defence League, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known under the name Tommy Robinson.
from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service
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