Hours after a deadly knife attack within the northern English the city of Southport final July, Andrew McIntyre arrange a Telegram channel referred to as “Southport Wake Up.” Amid posts riddled with anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-immigrant abuse, he instructed other folks to take to the streets, directing them to a mosque and calling for “conflict.”
Mr. McIntyre, 39, who took phase in two of several riots that rattled Britain final summer season, used to be sentenced to seven years in jail final Monday.
He pleaded in charge to encouraging violent dysfunction and prison harm, and to ownership of a knife. An afternoon after his conviction, Elon Musk, the billionaire tech wealthy person, bemoaned Mr. McIntyre’s sentencing in a put up on his social media platform X, stating: “Over 7 years jail for social media posts … Whoever gave that sentence merits jail themselves.”
“I feel it’s actually vital to notice right here simply how excessive the people that Musk has been protecting and attractive with in Europe and within the U.Okay. in fresh months are,” mentioned Joe Mulhall, the director of study for Hope No longer Hate, a Britain-based advocacy workforce that researches extremism, specifically at the some distance proper.
Whilst Mr. Musk has used his platform to magnify Tommy Robinson, Britain’s most well-known far-right extremist, the tech billionaire has additionally spoken out in desire of lesser-known figures like Mr. McIntyre. In doing so, Mr. Mulhall mentioned, Mr. Musk voiced toughen for a neo-Nazi who has up to now been a member of fascist teams.
Mr. Musk didn’t reply to a request for remark.
The summer season riots adopted a perilous attack at a dance class in Southport on July 29, by which a knife-wielding assailant killed 3 younger women and injured a number of others. Disinformation soon spread on social media, claiming that the suspect, who used to be later recognized as Axel Rudakubana, used to be a Syrian asylum seeker who had arrived on a small boat, when actually he used to be born in Wales.
Research conducted by Hope Not Hate showed that Mr. McIntyre used a Telegram account inside hours of the Southport assault to name for violence after which created a TikTok account and Telegram channel to market it, calling the latter “Southport Wake Up.” He shared a put up beneath a pseudonym in that Telegram channel encouraging an indication day after today on St. Luke’s Street in Southport, close to the website of the knife assault, and drew a crimson circle round a mosque on that street. He added the message “time for a 
TIME FOR WAR.”
On July 30, a violent mob focused the mosque that Mr. McIntyre had highlighted, and dozens of cops have been injured. Days of unrest convulsed Britain over the following week, as rioters clashed with the police, lit automobiles on fireplace, attacked mosques and ransacked companies.
Later, in piecing in combination quite a lot of accounts run via Mr. McIntyre throughout social media and messaging platforms, Hope No longer Hate discovered posts from him on Aug. 3, stating that “The mosques will have to burn,” and on Aug. 6, calling for the killing of all Jewish, Muslim and Black other folks, and including: “White energy.”
His extremism prolonged again years prior to the riots. Mr. McIntyre posted a selfie in July 2022 by which he gave a Nazi salute, and after his arrest, the police discovered a replica of “Mein Kampf,” Hitler’s political manifesto, in his house.
The Merseyside Police, which oversee policing within the Liverpool space, mentioned Mr. McIntyre’s messages on Telegram inspired others to take part in violent dysfunction and reason prison harm in Southport. He additionally made different “failed makes an attempt to instigate dysfunction at different places,” the police mentioned in a observation.
Mr. McIntyre took phase in riots in Southport on July 30 and in Liverpool on Aug. 3, the police mentioned, and had a knife when he used to be arrested on Aug. 8.
Paula Jones, a detective inspector with the Merseyside Police, mentioned that Mr. McIntyre had performed a key position in coordinating the July 30 rebellion, the use of social media to inspire other folks to shuttle to Southport and Liverpool to dedicate prison harm.
Mr. McIntyre’s social media footprint incorporated graphic threats of rape and violence towards different customers. “It’s additionally an invaluable case find out about to know the hypocrisy that sits on the heart of Musk relating to discussing Britain,” Mr. Mulhall mentioned. “On one hand, Mr. Musk bemoans the abuse of women through grooming gangs, whilst concurrently protecting the rights of people to make use of social media to ship rape threats and dying threats to ladies.”
Mr. Musk’s choice to reinstate the once-banned accounts of alternative participants of Britain’s some distance proper, together with Mr. Robinson, has considerably boosted their profile and helped unfold extremist ideology, in step with teams that observe the some distance proper. (Mr. Robinson is currently in prison for contempt of court, although his account on X stays energetic, and supporters are posting in his stead.)
Sophia Gaston, a British coverage analyst and a visiting fellow at King’s School London, mentioned that Mr. Musk’s focal point on Britain aligned with broader scrutiny of the rustic via the MAGA motion. Mr. Musk has criticized the British govt and government for efforts to struggle hate speech and violent rhetoric, framing himself as a defender of loose speech.
“However there’s a distinction between that amplification of voices out of doors of the mainstream of political lifestyles and giving a focus to those that were convicted of prison offenses,” Ms. Gaston mentioned. “In McIntyre’s case, those don’t seem to be spurious regulations round political correctness, which will also be open to interpretation. Those are regulations round public dysfunction and violence, that are important to protective lifestyles and assets.”
