Far-right activists barred from entering UK

[Deleted]

Three activists with big social media followings from Austria, Canada and the US have been barred from entering the United Kingdom, in a move that some say is part of a crackdown on the far right.

Brittany Pettibone and her boyfriend, Martin Sellner, were refused entry to the UK when they landed at Luton Airport on Friday. They were detained for two days, and then deported. Another activist, Lauren Southern, was refused entry by the Border Force near Calais on Monday. She had planned to meet with the couple and the former leader of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson.

Sellner, an Austrian and prominent figure in the anti-migration group Generation Identity, was due to make a speech in Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. He was the leader of a "Defend Europe" campaign last summer, responsible for targeting boats run by NGOs trying to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean.

On his social media accounts, Robinson says he plans to deliver Sellner's speech in Hyde Park on Sunday.

In a statement about the activists, a Home Office spokesperson said: "Border Force has the power to refuse entry to an individual if it is considered that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good."

Pettibone, an American, tweeted an image of the letter she says was handed to her by an immigration officer. It states that her planned activities posed "a serious threat to the fundamental interests of society and are likely to incite tensions between local communities in the United Kingdom".

The letter also cites Sellner's possession of leaflets which referenced "possible violence at his speech" and calls Robinson "a far right leader whose materials and speeches incite racial hatred." Pettibone was one of the most prominent online voices spreading the "pizzagate" conspiracy theory which falsely claimed that top Democratic officials were keeping child sex slaves underneath a Washington, DC pizza restaurant.

Southern says she was questioned under the Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, on her political views and her opinion on right-wing terrorism. She tells BBC Trending that she was refused entry on the grounds of her involvement "in the distribution of racist material in Luton".

In February, the Canadian activist displayed flyers saying "Allah is a gay god" outside a restaurant in the town centre. Southern, who has nearly half a million subscribers on YouTube and regularly posts politically charged stunts, says this was part of a "social experiment" video.

Like Pettibone and Sellner, Southern was informed that her actions "present a threat to the fundamental interests of society" by Border Force.

She tells BBC Trending she believes the government has a "political grudge" against Pettibone, Sellner and herself.

"I would hope that [the UK] would be pro-freedom of speech, and support people's right to question Islam, to even have cheeky posters, make jokes and social experiments, to give a speech at Speakers Corner," says Southern.

Nick Lowles, chief executive of the anti-racism campaign group Hope Not Hate, says there has been a shift in who the UK government considers to be a threat. He says that "during the last two to three years the government has taken a very strong position against hard-line neo-Nazis, extreme Holocaust deniers, banning many who've attempted to enter the UK."

"What's new about the banning of Generation Identity activists such as Martin Sellner, Brittany Pettibone, and their increasingly alt-right friend Lauren Southern, is that the government has signalled that it's going after 'softer' targets on the hard right," says Lowles.

"These are people who have huge reach on social media, they are peddlers of online hate, and as our recent State of Hate report highlighted, the online reach of right-wing hate preachers can have disastrous consequences."

"The irony is that the far right have long called for the British government to take firm control of our borders. Now they are doing just that."

The activists were prevented from entering the UK at a time of rising concern about far-right violence. Last month, Mark Rowley, the former head of counter-terrorism policing in the UK, warned of the growing threat of far-right terrorism.

"Islamist and right-wing extremism is reaching into our communities through sophisticated propaganda and subversive strategies creating and exploiting vulnerabilities that can ultimately lead to acts of violence and terrorism," he said.

Good! I am sick of these type of people constantly trying to incite a race war and causing shit in small towns

[Deleted]

Three activists with big social media followings from Austria, Canada and the US have been barred from entering the United Kingdom, in a move that some say is part of a crackdown on the far right.



Good! I am sick of these type of people constantly trying to incite a race war and causing shit in small towns

How bout you get out your basement and actually go do something about it instead of moaning on mmo champ 24/7?

[Kaleredar]

You'd think that conservatives would be happy that the UK is enforcing their immigration laws to keep out people who just want to incite violence.


Unfortunately I have a feeling that the only thing you'll see in this thread from them is whataboutisms about "Well they'll let in child rapist ISIS but not TRUE PATRIOTS" or somesuch.

[Deleted]

How bout you get out your basement and actually go do something about it instead of moaning on mmo champ 24/7?

pot kettle black

I don't think I have ever seen you post anything that isn't deliberately inflamatry and provoking

[A dot Ham]

Three activists with big social media followings from Austria, Canada and the US have been barred from entering the United Kingdom, in a move that some say is part of a crackdown on the far right.



Good! I am sick of these type of people constantly trying to incite a race war and causing shit in small towns

Oh the irony.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Yep, I agree too bad Lauren Southern can't be deported to the trailer parks of the inbred idiots she encourages. I also find it mildly ironic that recently the Alt-Right attacked Lauren Southern for being single and not being a den mother to some alt- right mouth breather.

Honestly Nothing more amusing than watching the Alt-Right white supremacist feed on one another.

[Deleted]

Oh the irony.

What irony exactly

[Deleted]

pot kettle black

I don't think I have ever seen you post anything that isn't deliberately inflamatry and provoking

Thats a straight up lie.

[netherflame]

"Far-right"

You mean people that aren't left, call it what it is don't twist the facts.

[Deleted]

Thats a straight up lie.

Your post history says otherwise now jog on

[JohnBrown1917]

"Far-right"

You mean people that aren't left, call it what it is don't twist the facts.

Right wing are people like Merkel, Macron, Clinton(both) etc..

[Deleted]

"Far-right"

You mean people that aren't left, call it what it is don't twist the facts.

Yeah the English Defence League are totally not far-right

[durrtygoodz]

Good! I am sick of these type of people constantly trying to incite a race war and causing shit in small towns

But the people who blow us up are ok.

[Techno-Druid]

Isn't Brittany Pettibone's boyfriend a leader of Generation Identity and National Action? The latter being a now banned neo-nazi organization considered to be a terrorist group by the UK government.

I mean the UK has also banned Louis Farrakhan, Robert Mugabe and plenty of people from other countries with different, radical political beliefs.

I also find it somewhat ironic that three members of movements that support sovereignty and nationalism are upset over a nation enacting its sovereign right to bar people from entry.

[Deleted]

But the people who blow us up are ok.

You mean the terrorists that get arrested? Pretty sure open members of ISIS are detained upon entry too

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Isn't Brittany Pettibone's boyfriend a leader of Generation Identity and National Action? The latter being a now banned neo-nazi organization considered to be a terrorist group by the UK government.

I mean the UK has also banned Louis Farrakhan, Robert Mugabe and plenty of people from other countries.

I also find it somewhat ironic that three members of movements that support sovereignty and nationalism are upset over a nation enacting its sovereign right to bar people from entry.

Not to mention their own pamphlet incriminates them

[Trollhammer]

You mean the terrorists that get arrested? Pretty sure open members of ISIS are detained upon entry too

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Not to mention their own pamphlet incriminates them

http://spectrumreport.com/allah-is-q...-from-britain/

I don't see anything wrong with these leaflets..

[Deleted]

http://spectrumreport.com/allah-is-q...-from-britain/

I don't see anything wrong with these leaflets..

What's on the otherside

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http://spectrumreport.com/allah-is-q...-from-britain/

I don't see anything wrong with these leaflets..

The letter also cites Sellner's possession of leaflets which referenced "possible violence at his speech" and calls Robinson "a far right leader whose materials and speeches incite racial hatred." Pettibone was one of the most prominent online voices spreading the "pizzagate" conspiracy theory which falsely claimed that top Democratic officials were keeping child sex slaves underneath a Washington, DC pizza restaurant.

In February, the Canadian activist displayed flyers saying "Allah is a gay god" outside a restaurant in the town centre. Southern, who has nearly half a million subscribers on YouTube and regularly posts politically charged stunts, says this was part of a "social experiment" video.

Sounds like two completely different leaflets

[Trollhammer]

What's on the otherside

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Sounds like two completely different leaflets

You can literally see the pamphlet in that article.

[Deleted]

You can literally see the pamphlet in that article.

And I literally just said its completely different to the pamphlet the article is taking about

[Everwake]

"Far right activist" Lauren Southern. "Far right leader" Tommy Robinson. In other words, they criticize Islam.