Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed one of Britain’s largest far-right rallies by video link in central London on Saturday, as clashes between protesters and police left 26 officers injured and 25 people under arrest.
“Unite The Kingdom”
The event, branded “Unite the Kingdom” and organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, saw demonstrators march over Westminster Bridge before gathering near Downing Street for speeches from far-right figures across Europe and North America.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is the founder of the English Defence League and one of the UK’s most prominent far-right figures.
Saturday’s rally, promoted as a demonstration for free speech, featured rhetoric targeting migration and multiculturalism
Musk’s Address
“You’re in a fundamental situation here,” said Musk, addressing the far-right rally and also claimed, “The left is the party of murder and celebrating murder. Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die.”
Other speakers included French politician Éric Zemmour and Petr Bystron of Germany’s anti-immigrant AfD, both of whom invoked nationalist themes and conspiracy theories such as the so-called “Great Replacement”.
The Metropolitan Police estimated between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended, far exceeding organisers’ expectations.
Clashes erupted on the fringes of the rally as some attendees tried to breach police cordons near a rival Stand Up to Racism march, which drew around 5,000 people.
Officers were punched, kicked, and struck with bottles, police said, with four sustaining serious injuries, including broken bones and concussions.
Around 1,000 officers were deployed, with reinforcements in riot gear called in to keep rival groups apart.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey denounced both the violence and Musk’s intervention, writing on social media, “These far-right thugs do not speak for Britain.”
(With inputs from IBNS)
