'Antifa' Violence erupts in Bristol

In an earlier article outlining the background to the opposition campaign to today's EDL protest in Bristol, it was shown that elements of the anarchist and Trotskyist fringe were intent upon whipping up an atmosphere of hatred in Bristol today and instigating violence. Tweets from This is Bristol's Emily Koch suggest that at the time of writing the police were still seeking to contain violence seemingly emanating from the self-styled 'anti-fascist' opponents of the EDL.

Avon and Somerset Police did their best today to keep the EDL and anti-EDL protesters apart, but the latter appear to have violated the instruction not to assemble at 'The Fountains', resulting in the arrest of previously convicted violent anti-democratic agitator Martin Smith of UAF.

As of 16:10, Temple Way was blocked, and police had closed the Temple Circus Gyratory and groups of protesters were running down Victoria Street. Wheelie bins had been overturned and their contents set alight in the street by 'antifa' elements. Earlier, supporters of Trotyskyist front groups UAF and 'We are Bristol' had traded insults with the EDL, with the two sides throwing stones at each other. Although EDL supporters had been boarding their coaches to return home since 15:30, significant elements within the 'antifa' appear to have been intent upon violent confrontation and sought to prevent EDL coaches from leaving the city. The stone-throwing led to the deployment of riot police in Redcliffe at around 15:45. Once the evening had arrived, a small number of EDL remained in the city drinking, and came under attack as described below:

Ricky Howell it went right off in old market a hour ago, everyone outside long bar got attacked by a load of scruffy fuckers with bricks, bottles and lumps of wood...... loads of edl just stayed in the pub and watched while a hand full of us fought with them and just about held our own!!!!!! not on we should of all stood together, some people got all the gob but no bottle when the shit hits the fan..... you know who you are!! 18 hours ago · 2

It is the anarchist contingent within the anti-EDL coalition that had been most intent upon violence, and which was unwilling to move the location of the counter-protest to the place specified by the police. At this stage, it still has not been revealed who issued the death threats against two members of the EDL in advance of today's protest, which resulted in the issuing of Osman warnings this week, so the threat could have emanated from an element within the violent 'antifa' fringe, rather than from Islamists. Although thankfully there have been no deaths today, there have been a number of injuries. The video below shows mounted police dispersing 'antifa' demonstrators. Such tactics were not required against the EDL. All in all 11 arrests, including Martin Smith of UAF, were made.

The mass media's systematic distortion and manipulation of public perception of the EDL is encapsulated perfectly in The Guardian's report on the Bristol demo from which the following extract is taken:

Riot police made the arrests as up to 300 English Defence League (EDL) demonstrators marched through the city. Some of the demonstrators threw objects and wheelie bins were set on fire.

What impression is conveyed by these two sentences? Who does it imply committed these acts? EDL demonstrators, or their opponents? In all, the BBC reports that 14 arrests were made, but as is standard in reporting on the EDL, no reference was made to who had been arrested, with the implication being that the majority, if not all of those arrested, were EDL supporters. Why did it not mention that Martin Smith of UAF was the first to be arrested? Given his high profile in UAF, surely this was worthy of comment? One claim has circulated that only two of the 14 arrested hailed from the EDL, with the remainder coming from the ranks of their opponents, which given the violence of the latter, seems credible. This claim will either be corroborated or proven false when the identities of those arrested are released, but the experience of previous demonstrations indicates that the bulk of those arrested are likely to be counter-demonstrators.

Further information relating to the essentially peaceful conduct of the EDL demonstrators, in contrast to the unprovoked violent attack upon the police by the self-styled 'anti-fascists', was published in a report by This is Bristol on Monday 16 July. This underscores the point that it is not the EDL - the so-called 'far-right' - that constitute a threat to our liberties and freedom of expression, but the Trotskyist and anarchist hard Left who do not believe in pluralism, and who are eager to resort to violence to close down debate. People need to understand that behind the words calling for alleged 'tolerance' and 'respect' employed by the hard Left, there lurks a nasty and violent totalitarian impulse, and you don't have to scratch too hard for it to reveal itself.

Are anarchists 'green'? Not when it comes to wheelie bins