Why UK far-right rioters might be charged with terrorism

Amid ongoing violent far-right riots in the UK, fueled by misinformation, England and Wales' Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said his teams would consider charging some suspects with terrorism offenses.

The Terrorism Act 2000 defines terrorism, both in and outside of the UK, as the use or threat of one or more of these actions:

serious violence against a person; serious damage to property; endangering a person's life; creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public; and action designed to seriously interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.

The violent riots, fueled by a rumor that the perpetrator of a stabbing attack was a Muslim immigrant, has resulted in attacking mosques, shops, hotels where asylum seekers stay, and people, inside their cars or walking on the streets, according to BBC reports.

The day after the stabbings, bricks were thrown through the windows of Southport local mosque where a number of Muslims were taking refuge behind locked doors, according to the BBC.

Far-right rioters have also attacked at least three hotels housing asylum seekers in Rotherham, Tamsworth, and Manchester, according to Sky News.

Local Manchester counselor John Flanagan wrote on social media, “I’d like to condemn these mindless thugs, attacking innocent men who are asylum seekers. They have been there for months and we have not had any issues or problems,” reported The Guardian.

UK officers have sustained serious injuries coming from far-right rioters including fractures, lacerations, a broken nose, jaw and concussion, Merseyside Police told AP.

The prosecutor also said they would consider seeking extradition for social media influencers who are accused of stoking the violence from abroad.

The rumors were spread by far-right influencers, such as Andrew Tate and Tommy Robinson, a far-right, anti-Islam campaigner.

The online speculation that fueled the riots was spread by Nigel Farage as well, a Reform UK leader and Member of Parliament, whose party won 14% of the vote in the July General Election. He is now being accused of creating conspiracy theories and irresponsible behavior, according to The Guardian.

On July 30, a day after the fatal stabbings, Farage posted a video on social media, posing the question of “whether the truth is being withheld from us,” adding that it was “quite legitimate to ask questions.”

Former senior Scotland Yard officer and counter-terrorism boss, Neil Basu, was reported in The Guardian saying, there were “real world consequences” when public figures failed to “keep their mouth shut”, regarding the spread of disinformation in social media.

Around 400 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, and police chiefs in the U.K. said an extra 2,200 riot-trained officers would be deployed across the country, The Guardian reported.

Offenders "must know that they are not safe and there is nowhere to hide," the prosecutor said, according to the BBC.

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