
Mass Arrests Follow Tommy Robinson Rally and Counterprotest
London police arrested tens of protesters at an anti-Muslim “Unite the Kingdom” rally led by pro-Israel activist Tommy Robinson and a counterprotest that included demonstrators from the Stand Up Against Racism group protesting Robinson’s rally itself and anti-Israel protesters marking Nakba day, the police announced Sunday.
The police had prepared its biggest operation yet ahead of the rally, fearing violent clashes that had broken out at previous rallies. The arrests numbered 20 people from Robinson’s rally, which drew 60,000 people, and 12 from the counterprotest, which drew 15,000-20,000 people, according to numbers cited by the Metropolitan Police. Organizers of both rallies claimed higher attendance than that cited by police.
The arrests broke down as follows: nine from the Unite the Kingdom rally for hate crimes and two from Stand Up to Racism; police said they were arrested for “offenses motivated by race, religion, sexuality and disability.” An additional seven suspected hate crimes from the Nakba rally are under investigation.
Other arrests at the Robinson rally included public order, drunk and disorderly offenses, previous grievous bodily harm, telecommunications offenses, assaults on emergency workers and telecommunications offenses.
The Nakba rally included arrests for failing to remove face masks, assaulting an emergency worker and supporting a proscribed organization.
One Nakba protester shouted “Hitler knew how to deal with these people,” and others called for Tommy Robinson to be hanged and shot in the neck like Charlie Kirk.
Robinson had warned his supporters ahead of the protest to stay away from alcohol and to be “peaceful and courteous.” At his rally speech, he urged them to get politically active and prepare themselves for the “cultural revolution” he was leading, which would culminate in the “battle of Britain” in 2029, i.e., Britain’s next election.