Bristol Antifascists

Category: Statements

  • ‘Bristol Patriots’ attempt attack on child friendly Palestine March

  • Bristol Antifascists Statement – Bristol Patriots Counter Demo – Saturday 15th November

    On the 15th of November Bristol Patriots once again attempted to intimidate racialised people in our city. The Mercure Bristol Holland House Hotel was chosen as their outlet for hate. Numbering 46 they were met by roughly 500 counter protesters and protected by about 200 police. Black bloc tactics were out in strength, with approximately 100 comrades on the frontlines.

    The counter demo was called for 11:30 well in advance of the Fascist mobilisation at 13:00. This allowed us to take the space immediately outside the hotel. The Fash were cordoned into a fenced off area, to the left of the hotel, in front of the Colosseum, surrounded by state thugs. Throughout the day there were repeated efforts by the radical bloc of the counter demo to apply pressure on the Fash, but as has been increasingly seen in demonstrations after last year’s summer of violence, we came into contact with the police rather than Fascists.

    Following the disorganisation and resulting street battles between Fash and Anti-Fash we saw last summer, the police have made an effort to restore order and a sense of normalcy by ensuring greater separation between camps. In actuality this means a facilitation of Fascist demos and a normalisation of their exterminatory ideology.

    Once the Fash got bored of their pathetic picket, groups of them filtered away. A contingent of the black bloc left the demo site to ensure wider community safety. However, they were kettled on Commercial Road, experiencing high levels of police brutality resulting in arrests and hospitalisations due to head injuries caused by batons. Witnesses even saw an instance of friendly fire with a cop inadvertently hitting another on the head with a baton, accounting for the supposed “police injuries”.

    Using Section 60AA and Section 35, they were then individually issued dispersal orders, while Fash streamers skulked behind the police unopposed. This represents the development of a legal and extrajudicial surveillance system, with masks increasingly being criminalised at protests enabling the doxing of Antifascists by Fash streamers.

    As Late stage Capitalism falters in the face of Climate Catastrophe, increasing class consciousness and global instability, Fascism seems to be replacing Neo-Liberalism globally. In the British context this can be seen in Labour’s hard pivot to the right. As the fragility of the Capitalist world order becomes more apparent, the powers that be will always sooner cede to Fascism, rather than the true alternative of Anti-Capitalism. We have entered a new normal that has truly become emphasised by last summer’s race riots and the unabated anti-immigration demonstrations that have persisted ever since.

    Nonetheless, the city of Bristol and our fellow comrades from across the South West were organised, disciplined and militant. Never shall we let barbarism go unopposed on our streets, whether it be from wanna be Brown Shirts or the authorities. Yet, Fascism doesn’t solely operate on a street level. Now more than ever we see the need for a truly representative and militant mass movement. The underwhelming non-launch of Your Party demonstrates how unprepared the left is for the coming fight. Such an initiative presents an opportunity for true radical change and a holistic Anti-Fascist approach from the street, to community centers, to Parliament.

    You, the community of Bristol, stood tall in solidarity with the refugees who bring so much to our communities and showed love through the windows of the Hotel. Keep fighting the good fight.

  • Tomorrow is a fight for the future

    Yesterday, Bristol Patriots announced that both Britain First and UKIP will be at tomorrow’s demo with Nick Tenconi as a speaker.

    These two groups latching onto this demo is not a coincidence. Fascism and authoritarianism is growing, and these groups want to destroy the solidarity and strength we showed last summer. To them, it is more than just Bristol or attacking this specific location housing migrants, its building an international fascist movement.

    Nick Tenconi and UKIP have been doing demos outside of refugee housing all summer. Tenconi himself was caught on camera doing a n*zi salute.

    Britain First is partially responsible for Operation Raise the COlours, putting ridiculous amounts into funding nationalism across the country.

    Both are committed to build a world that’s actively hosting to migrants, queer and trans people, and working class people.

    Coming out tomorrow does more than protect this one hotel. And even if it were, we’d still be there.

    They want to “take” Bristol because of the culture, the sense of community, the willingness to stand up and fight. Cities with similar reputations are getting targeted worldwide, so those positives can be replaced with corporate and fascist interests.

    Showing up and not letting fascists and racists just do as they want is part of an ongoing fight against capitalism and state authoritarianism.

    We are all Bristol Antifascists.

    That means stopping fascism everywhere it appears and every form it takes.

    Tomorrow, that means supporting migrants stuck in temporary accommodations getting directly targeted.

    But in the future, that also means supporting racialized people, queer and trans people, women, unhoused and working class people, disabled people, s*x workers, ex-prisoners and many more in whatever forms those lived experiences take. We need to act in solidarity with everyone who has been oppressed until all of us are free.

    So, we’ll see you out there tomorrow. Wear black, bring a friend and hopefully make some more friends.

  • Bristol Antifascists Statement – Bristol Patriots Counter Demo – Sunday 5th October

    Despite having publicly announced their decision not to hold pre-advertised demonstrations after a summer of defeat, Bristol Patriots attempted to march through Bristol City Centre on 5 October. They intended to march from the Cenotaph to College Green, a distance that would typically be a five minute stroll. As always, their racist march did not go unopposed. Racists were outnumbered by anti-fascists six to one with about 75 racists and 450 anti-fascists. 

    Throughout the beginning of the demonstration, the racist Bristol Patriots were outwardly well-behaved. Many of their numbers walked right into the small fenced off areas (essentially adult play pens) that the police had prepared for them beforehand and stayed close to police the entire time. They showed up wearing flags, including the Union Jack, St George Cross, the clearly artificially-generated Bristol Patriots logo and a flag for the British Movement – a national neo-nazi party that has historically been known for its hitler apologism and white power rhetoric. The inclusion of the British Movement at this demonstration is just yet another example of the racist and fascist underpinnings of the Bristol Patriots.

    Yet, not all of the racists were well-behaved nor were the police interested in keeping them to their adult play pen. Various members of the Bristol Patriots’ demo wandered through the pockets of the counter-demo to try and raise tensions. These members of the demo often tried to pick fights, confident that police would once again show their allegiances by protecting racists and lashing out at anti-fascists.

    As soon as the Bristol Patriots began marching, the police quickly lost control of the situation. Police had brought in a lot of numbers for the day, while the Bristol Patriots were escorted by football lads who arrived just as the march began. None of this mattered because local anti-fascists still massively outnumbered the crowd and police continued to their incompetency. By the time the march ended, racists and police alike had been chased into the furthest corner of College Green. 

    The rest of the demo was spent with police escorting small groups of racists out of the area for the following two hours. They were not able to retake any space, hidden behind a line of cops and a crowd of anti-fascists. For a lot of that time, one of the Bristol Patriots’ organizers, Molly Herbert, was frantically talking on the phone to someone, showing just how humiliated they had been. Once again, Bristol Patriots were chased out of the city.

    Our successes here in Bristol have been no accident. Communities throughout the city have been coming together and organizing. That work is something to be proud of, especially as all of us watch racist and fascist groups grow in other areas. Every demonstration comes with new affinity groups who clearly come with their own goals for the day, which makes it easier for us to show that racists are not welcome in this city. 

    Bristol is and always will be antifascist.

    And we are all Bristol Antifascists.

  • Statement on the antifascist counter demonstrations in Bristol on August 9th and August 23rd

    This summer has been much like the last. From Bournemouth to Edinburgh, fascists have mobilised in the streets of Britain, marching for “remigration” and harassing asylum seekers staying in hotels. On August 9th, racists attempted to do the same in Bristol, calling a demonstration outside the Mercure Brigstow. Outnumbered ten to one by five hundred antifascist activists – including Bristol Antifascists, Bristol Against Hate, Bristol Antiracist Action, Bristol Stand Up To Racism and hundreds not part of any group – the racists were unable to get anywhere near the hotel.

    Not quite getting the message, the racists – now rebranded as “Bristol Patriots” – immediately called another demonstration two weeks later, on August 23rd. With Castle Park as their new meeting point, they announced their intention to march to an unnamed location nearby. On the day, however – only a few minutes after their advertised meeting time – fewer than ten racists found themselves surrounded by hundreds of antifascist activists, who had mobilised in the same location more than an hour earlier and moved together in a co-ordinated effort to take the space. Another two-dozen trickled meekly into the far-right demonstration over the next hour, while one of the organisers panicked on a livestream, begging more “patriots” to come and reinforce their numbers. Meanwhile, the crowd containing them swelled to half a thousand. At this point, it seemed that the police, who had formed a protective ring around the much smaller group, would be forced to call the demonstration off.

    Instead, as they have done time and again, the police sided with the far right. Attacking antifascists with horses, batons, fists and boots, the police attempted to march the racists out of Castle Park and towards the Mercure Brigstow. Even in the face of such indiscriminate violence, antifascists managed to halt both the police and the far right on Wine Street, forming lines and standing firm against hours of repeated assaults by mounted and foot officers.

    Outmanoeuvred and contained once more, the police gave up on the Mercure Brigstow and turned to direct the racists to hotels housing asylum seekers at the Bearpit. Unbelievably, this involved marching them into the heart of Broadmead, where families, including young children, were holding a Palestine fundraiser. People in the shopping district – not part of and perhaps even unaware of the events of the day – were forced to scramble out of the way to avoid being trampled by police. All in all, with their brutality and absolute disregard for public safety, the police themselves exposed the farce that they exist to “protect” us. Ultimately, even with their facilitation, the racists – intimidated and completely demoralised – were pushed back to Castle Park and made to disperse for their own safety.

    Fascists are afraid to organise in Bristol, and this is no accident. It is our collective strength, organisation and repeated willingness to mobilise that keeps hatred off our streets. Elsewhere – in Epping, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Southampton and many more – the racists outnumber us every week and are only becoming more emboldened. The same will happen here if we do not keep turning out. We must also recognise that “Bristol Patriots”, while racist, are not the sharp end of fascism. Unlike other hotel demonstrations across the country, neo-Nazis are not orchestrating things behind the scenes. It is our very unwillingness to concede an inch to racist ideas, our intolerance to intolerance, that prevents this from happening. Fascism is growing nationwide and we must not be complacent.

    We should all be proud of our courage on Saturday, and our commitment to continuing the antifascist legacy of our wonderful, diverse city. If you or anyone you know sustained injuries at the hands of the police, please take photos, get a doctor’s note, and provide a detailed account of the incident to bristoldefendantsolidarity@riseup.net; there may be a chance to take legal action against the cops.

    Love, solidarity and fuck the police.

    Bristol is and always will be antifascist!

  • Bristol Anti-Fascists Statement on 17th May UKIP and Patriots of Britain Counter Demo

    On Saturday 17th May, antifascist activists including Bristol Antifascists, South West Antifascist Action, Bristol Against Hate, trade unionists, and regular members of the public outraged by UKIP’s presence surrounded the Cenotaph in Bristol City Centre prior to UKIP’s planned rally at the monument. UKIP leader, Nick Tenconi, had been calling for the far right to protest demanding “mass deportations” of migrants and asylum-seekers, and to “reclaim” Bristol from “left-wing extremists” in the weeks building up to the rally.

    A black bloc of approximately 50 people arrived at 11.30am, shortly growing to around 80, with numbers of the counter-demonstration as a whole swelling to around 300 by the time of UKIP’s announced protest start time at 1pm. In total, UKIP’s protest did not consist of more than around 50 people at any one time.

    A police line formed after a small group of UKIP supporters and Patriots of Britain members attempted to approach the Cenotaph and were confronted by antifascists. Police almost immediately used batons and PAVA (pepper) spray indisciminately against antifascists in an ineffective attempt to intimidate us. They specifically targeted a Black comrade for arrest under suspicion of theft on the say-so of UKIP supporters, using physical violence, kneeling on them and holding them prone on the ground, and using a dangerous hold on their neck. In total, 5 antifascists were arrested throughout the day. All were released without charge or further action.

    While police attempted to create a static line between both UKIP and antifascists, they did not have the manpower, strategic planning, or flexibility to effectively hold the space. Anti-fascists used their mobility and adaptibility to repeatedly work around and spread thin police lines, and eventually managed to surround police, UKIP supporters and Patriots of Britain, despite facing batons, PAVA spray, police dogs and horses. Any fascists that ventured outside the police cordon were swiftly dealt with by the black bloc, and Essex-based fascist Dave Oldershaw’s complaints to the police that he had been stabbed fell on deaf ears, having in fact been filmed from multiple angles tripping over a curb when pushed by antifascists.

    Trapped in the middle of police and anti-fascists, Tenconi delivered a bizarre, angry and incoherent rant to his small group of scared and panicked supporters, in which he claimed that he planned to deport not only migrants and asylum-seekers, but also “communists” and “Leftists”. His claims that his rally was an historic victory fell completely flat.

    Tenconi also chose to insult the memory of George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of the US police in 2020 sparked riots across the US and the international Black Lives Matter movement, calling him a criminal who “deserved what he got”. Alone, this comment would have been an overt display of racism. However, in the context of a Black comrade getting pinned to the ground by the neck earlier that day, this enraged the counter-protest, and rightfully so. That anger is an expression of the clear injustice that happened both this Saturday, and on 25th May, 2020. Bristol has a proud history of leading anti-racist struggles, and Tenconi would be well-advised to look to the now empty Colston plinth that he was stood in front of, as a reminder of how Bristolians responded to the murder of George Floyd.

    However, his speech did not last long, and went unheard by anyone outside his protest. UKIP and Patriots of Britain, embarassed, panicked, and alone in Bristol City Centre, were packed into police vans for their own protection, and driven back to the train station.

    Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us, each person was important and necessary. We are proud to be part of a community that repeatedly shows fascists are not and never will be welcome here.

    Bristol is Antifascist!

    Photo credit: @FieldsOfLightPhotography

  • Response to recent council & mayoral elections

    We do not believe in electoral politics, however, whilst Arron Banks of Reform UK did not win, we are concerned that he did receive over 45,000 votes.

    As the elite party system continues its accelerated slide to the right, both under Labour and with the rising threat of Reform, we will also see far-right groups and individuals emboldened to take action.

    We can see in the US the violence inflicted upon vulnerable communities by a far right government. They Labour government is already continuing the campaign of immigration raids and deportations carried out by the Tories. Reform UK will only accelerate that violence. We have to prepare to defend asylum seekers, migrants and other vulnerable members of our community now.

    This is a reminder that the electoral system will never set us free and only serves the interests of the state, big corporations and land owners.

    We need to stop wasting our time on party politics and get organised in our communities and workplaces.

    This can look like many things:

    • Setting up support networks with your neighbours
    • Creating communities of care
    • Joining anti-fascist and anti-raids groups
    • Practising community defense
    • Growing self-sufficiency & reducing reliance on the state