Muslim Defense League clashes with everyone in Birmingham

Birmingham, the UK’s second-largest city, became the latest place to be engulfed by violence, but with a twist. After charity Hope Not Hate spread misinformation about white people attacking Muslims with acid (which was confirmed false by the police), and the UK’s own government stoking fear about the so-called ‘far right,’ the Muslim Defense League organized a counter demonstration to… no one in particular. And it still turned violent.

Journalists, but almost no police, attended the scene, amid rumors of a planned ‘far right’ march in the Bordesley Green area that had not, in fact, actually been organized. Despite this, it still descended into violence, with Muslim protesters taking over the streets, drifting cars around a traffic island, and then descending on a mostly white pub to ‘assert dominance’ (which involved beating people up). Sky News accidentally broadcast footage of themselves being accosted by protesters, and later, of a mostly peaceful tire slashing, before hastily having it removed. Journalists for radio station LBC also found themselves under attack, chased out of the city entirely by a ‘man with a weapon.’ At Birmingham’s Heartlands hospital, protesters set up an ‘anti-white’ checkpoint, forcing staff and patients to remain inside.

Local MP Jess Phillips, who had spread the misinformation that the ‘far right’ were turning up, blamed the ‘far right’ and ‘misinformation’ for the chaos. The police, when they finally did show up, said ‘nobody here is causing problems.’