Hours after the fatal knife attack in the northern English town of Southport last July, Andrew McIntyre created a Telegram channel called “Southport Wake Up.” Amid posts filled with anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant abuse, he urged people to take to the streets, directed them to the mosque and called for “war.”
McIntyre, 39, who participated in two of the many riots that rocked Britain last summer, convicted He was sentenced to seven years in prison last Monday.
He pleaded guilty to encouraging violent disorder, criminal damage and possession of a knife. One day after his conviction, Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul, expressed his remorse for Mr. McIntyre’s sentence in a post on his social media platform “This sentence deserves imprisonment itself.”
“I think it’s really important to note here just how radicalized the individuals that Musk has been defending and engaging with in Europe and the UK have been in recent months,” said Joe Mulhall, research director at Hope Not Hate, a British foundation. A based advocacy group that researches extremism, especially the far right.
While Mr Musk has used his platform to amplify Tommy Robinson, Britain’s most famous right-wing extremist, the tech billionaire has also spoken out in favor of lesser-known figures such as Mr McIntyre. In doing so, Mr. Musk expressed support for neo-Nazis who had previously been a member of fascist groups, Mr. Mulhall said.
Mr. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.
The summer riots followed a deadly attack on a dance class in Southport on July 29, in which a knife-wielding attacker killed three young girls and injured several others. Misinformation quickly spread on social media, claiming that the suspect, later identified as Axel Rudakubana, was a Syrian asylum seeker who arrived on a small boat, while he was born in Wales.
The research conducted by the organization showed hope, not hate That Mr McIntyre used a Telegram account within hours of the Southport attack to call for violence, and then created a TikTok account and Telegram channel to promote it, naming the latter “Southport Wake Up”. He shared a post under a pseudonym on a Telegram channel encouraging a demonstration the following day on St Luke’s Road in Southport, near the site of the knife attack, and drew a red circle around a mosque on that road. “It’s time for war,” he added the message.
On July 30, a violent mob targeted the mosque highlighted by Mr. McIntyre, and dozens of police officers were injured. Days of unrest rocked Britain over the following week, as rioters clashed with police, set fire to cars, attacked mosques, and looted businesses.
Later, while piecing together the various accounts run by Mr. McIntyre across social media and messaging platforms, Hope Not Hate found posts from him on August 3, declaring that “mosques must be burned,” and on August 6 calling for killing. For all Jews, Muslims and blacks, add: “white power.”
His extremism extended back to the years before the riots. McIntyre posted a selfie in July 2022 in which he gave the Nazi salute, and after his arrest, police found a copy of “Mein Kampf,” Hitler’s political manifesto, at his home.
Merseyside Police, which oversees policing in the Liverpool area, said Mr McIntyre’s messages on Telegram encouraged others to take part in violent disturbances and cause criminal damage in Southport. The police said in a statement that he also made “other failed attempts to incite chaos in other locations.”
Police said Mr McIntyre took part in riots in Southport on July 30 and in Liverpool on August 3, and was carrying a knife when he was arrested on August 8.
Merseyside Police Detective Inspector Paula Jones said Mr McIntyre played a key role in coordinating the riots on July 30, using social media to encourage people to travel to Southport and Liverpool to commit criminal damage.
Mr McIntyre’s social media footprint included graphic threats of rape and violence against other users. “It is also a useful case study in understanding the hypocrisy at heart when it comes to discussing Britain,” Mr Mulhall said. “On the one hand, Mr. Musk bemoans the abuse of women through grooming gangs, while at the same time defending the rights of individuals to use social media to send rape threats and death threats to women.”
Mr. Musk’s decision to reinstate accounts that had been banned for other members of the far-right in Britain, including Mr. Robinson, significantly boosted their image and helped spread extremist ideology, according to groups that monitor the far-right. (Mr. Robinson is currently in prison for contempt of court, although his X account is still active, and supporters are posting in his stead.)
Mr. Musk’s focus on Britain is in line with broader scrutiny of the country by the MAGA movement, said Sophia Gaston, a British political analyst and visiting fellow at King’s College London. Mr Musk criticized the British government and authorities for their efforts to combat hate speech and violent rhetoric, and portrayed himself as a defender of freedom of expression.
“But there is a difference between amplifying voices outside the mainstream of political life and highlighting those who have been convicted of criminal offences,” Ms Gaston said. “In McIntyre’s case, these are not false laws about political correctness, which can be open to interpretation. These are laws about public disorder and violence, which are necessary to protect life and property.”
