August 05, 2009

Peter Tierney arraigned for assaulting anti-fascist

As Peter Tierney of Liverpool BNP was arraigned for smashing an anti-fascists head in with a camera tripod, protesters organised by the magistrates court in opposition to fascist violence. But much more can be done.

Today, BNP "super-activist" Peter Tierney was arraigned at the Liverpool Magistrates Court on assault charges. On St George's Day, he split open a man's head with a camera tripod during an attack perpetrated by him and Steve Greenhalgh on anti-fascists who had managed to organise opposition to the party's city-centre leafleting on a moment's notice. Despite accusing another anti-fascist of attacking him, Tierney was eventually arrested and charged by Merseyside police.

In response, the BNP claimed that it was in fact they, "including women and elderly folk," who were "suddenly physically attacked" by "a mob of violent Tory and Labour-supported UAF thugs." These "thugs," of course, being local anti-fascists who were not "harassing" Tierney and his fellow fascists but leafleting against them and their lies.

In the run up to the court-date, the BNP mailing list urged armchair fascists to "email or phone the Crown Prosecution service," in an attempt to subvert the course of justice with a flood of crank calls. Merseyside BNP also called on "all democratic, peace loving Nationalists" to show "support" for Tierney by protesting outside the court.

Today, however, after Merseyside antifascists organised an opposition rally to "show the BNP that we won’t tolerate their racism and violence in Liverpool or anywhere else," the story was somewhat different. Around fifty anti-fascists turned up at the Magistrates Court to protest both the fascist gathering and Tierney's violence, but the BNP were nowhere to be seen.

On the other side of the road from the antifascist gathering, however, four known local fascists - believed to be of the British Freedom Fighters (BFF) rather than the BNP - gathered to jeer at the protesters and take pictures. In response, many in the crowd produced their phones to photograph the snoops whilst a chant of "I'm on Redwatch and I don't care" started up. Eventually, the four slipped away to massive jeering, though not before skulking under the nearby motorway bridge to take a few more photographs.

Inside the court, meanwhile, Tierney was decidedly the worse for wear, looking as though he was "off his face on some or other substance" and being unable to remember his own address. His bail conditions, namely a ban from Liverpool city centre, were reimposed, and he will stand trial on September 3rd. It is vital that anti-fascists come out to demonstrate their opposition to Tierney's violent thuggery once again.

However, although today's protest served its stated purpose well, I can't help thinking that it could have been better done. Although local Liverpool anti-fascists were the first to call a demonstration, it was Unite Against Fascism (UAF) who quickly dominated the event, with UAF and trade union "leaders" there as speakers. One major problem I have with the UAF and similar organisations is that theirs is an opposition to the extreme right centred on hierarchy and authority, with a lot of neglect as regards grassroots organisation.

In Liverpool we do not simply need a band of people who will come out to hold banners at protests in "safe" areas pre-arranged with the police. What we need is solid, grassroots organisation of activists who will not just come out to shout "scum" at fascists but also mobilise their community, engage with ordinary people, and combat the ideology as much as the physical presence of fascism. We need to be there in great numbers when fascists come out, and to present genuine opposition - not to simply negotiate with police to sell the Socialist Worker in an area of their choosing. Most importantly, we need a movement that is tied into class-struggle, not one that tries to turn people off the BNP by directing them towards a government enacting their worst policies.

Successful anti-fascist movements recognise that real power lies with the people, not with "leaders" and "spokespersons." Moreover, they organise with the aim of taking back the streets from fascists wherever and whenever they may be, and they realise that asking police permission to occupy a small corner for a short time does not even come close to this goal. Tierney and his fellow thugs must be opposed, not by bureaucrats with a permit but by ordinary people with cries of "¡No Parasan!"

Truth, Reason and Liberty

21 comments:

Pete Green said...

Good report but a shame there wasn't more than around fifty anti-fascists there. On the other hand, didn't the BNP and Stormfront ask for support for Tierney? How many of them were there? Any?

Anonymous said...

"Inside the court, meanwhile, Tierney was decidedly the worse for wear, looking as though he was "off his face on some or other substance" and being unable to remember his own address."

A fine upstanding example of the 'master race'...eh? Maybe he should have taken a lead from Dicky Barnbrook and got a sick note from the doc.

Have you noticed how most bnp activists appear to be the most degenerate, lumpen and fucked up specimens out there?

Anonymous said...

August 15th is a Saturday, the same day as the RWB demo.

Anonymous said...

"On the other side of the road from the antifascist gathering, however, four known local fascists - believed to be of the British Freedom Fighters (BFF) rather than the BNP - gathered to jeer at the protesters and take pictures"

Weren't the armchair warriors on Stormfront giving it the 'big 'un' about turning up en masse and pasting the 'Reds'?

Just goes to show, they're great at hard talk but haven't the backbone to put it into practice.

John P said...

Should be September 15th

hd said...

Was Wanker Watmough one of these BFF losers taking Redwatch photos???

phil & dave said...

"In the run up to the court-date, the BNP mailing list urged armchair fascists to "email or phone the Crown Prosecution service," in an attempt to subvert the course of justice with a flood of crank calls".......

Hoax 999 calls suggested by the law abiding BNP. So much for being the party of law and order!

Anonymous said...

Who's Titus Advax who is putting up article after article on the BNPs website.

What other political party has anonymous contributors?

Serious political party I mean.

turnleft said...

The roots of antifa are deep, but the example set by the supporters & residents of the St Pauli region of Hamburg is perhaps the most important.

I appreciate you may not like football, but what they've done is exactly what needs to be done.
But they're would be clashes, that's where the numbers come in. Only the Extreme german hooligans attack the Ultras of St Pauli. Sometimes it can be StPauli & Sections of the opposing team AGAINST these outcasts.

Getting an english team to
become an anti-BNP/racist team in the mould of StPauli would destroy the BNPs more dangerous followers.

Antifascist said...

'Should be September 15th'

Thanks, John.

Anonymous said...

Can I just change the subject for a minute please, go and have a look at the London Patriot site, they have the very full letter that Griffin has written to the CRE. It is worth spending a few minutes to read it.

tulip

ps Little Bobs rant and rave about Africans for Essex pogrom is on there new today.

Anonymous said...

"Should be September 15th"

How do you know. I haven't spotted any reports anywhere yet.

Anonymous said...

Who's Titus Advax who is putting up article after article on the BNPs website.

looks like someone from the west midlands probably some new edition thats working for nothing,a new cash cow to the slaughter.

me thinks there going to struggle for candidates next year in that region,only 20 turned up for candidate training and there must be 300/400 seats to contest next year.

ohno said...

For Titus Advax read Tit.....

Who in their right mind would put all those man hours in for Gri££in.

They probably wrongly assume they will be paid somewhere down the line.

Dream on, Advax!!!! lol

I've heard it all before!

Phil Dickens said...

I'm told by someone else who was at the protest that the date is September 3rd. Alec McFadden came to report this after watching the court proceedings, though I obviously got it mixed up with the RWB protest, which was also announced at the demo.

The Merseyside BNP is already claiming that they cancelled their demo "in the interests of public safety" and that what they claim to be only 15 "Labour-sponsored thugs" was making threats in the court and on the streets. I can confirm that this is grade-A bullshit as usual.

I'd probably be kinder about it if they at least had the capacity to produce well-written reports on these things rather than obvious nonsense.

Anonymous said...

Titus Advax is Arthur Kemp's new alias - he is trying to keep a very low profile (hiding from the maintenance order which is coming!) and also makes it look like there are a whole bunch of intellectuals (sic) contributing to the site. He has always contribued to a variety of sites using different names.

bezzick said...

BNP candidate training. That sounds like a joke, lol.

Perhaps the BNP should try the local lunatic asylum. Or if that fails, register each of Loony Lee Barnes's split personalities as a different BNP candidate.

stubbings said...

Liverpool BNP have all mouth and no trousers, as usual, lol.

Mister Owens had a big gun (which would have pleased Dicky Bumbrook no end), but apart from that, the region's a no starter for the neo-Nazi BNP organisation.

Anonymous said...

50 people sounds pretty good to me.

I'm a bit put off by all this class thing though. Is it really necessary to point this out in such an article?

Rigby said...

Joe Chapman sed>>>
"50 people sounds pretty good to me....bit put off by all this class thing though."

Report after report has shown the BNPs support comes from working and low middle classes, so we need to target them. Simples.

Liverpool Anti-Fascists said...

SAY NO TO BNP VIOLENCE
Demonstrate!
Thursday September 3rd
8.30am, Outside Dale St. Magistrates Court, Liverpool

Merseyside BNP member, Peter Tierney, is appearing in court again on September 3rd. He faces charges of assault, following an attack on an anti-fascist protester in April.
Let’s show the BNP that we won’t tolerate their racism and violence in Liverpool or anywhere else. Demonstrate against the racists on September 3rd.

STAND UP TO RACISM AND FASCISM!
JOIN US ON SEPTEMBER 3rd
Liverpool Anti-Fascists:
liverpoolantifascists@riseup.net