[Vision2020] As if things couldn’t get more ignorant . . .

[Moscow Cares]

Courtesy of USA Today at:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/11/29/trump-tweets-several-videos-alleging-physical-attacks-muslims-posted-far-right-british-leader/904332001/

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Trump retweets several videos alleging physical attacks by Muslims posted by far-right British leader

WASHINGTON – President Trump retweeted several videos on Wednesday allegedly depicting physical attacks carried out by Muslims, originally posted by the deputy leader of Britain First, a far-right political party that opposes immigration. 

Jayda Fransen posted the unverified videos, with the captions: "VIDEO: Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!"; "VIDEO: Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!"; "VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!" 

Trump did not provide a reason or additional commentary on the videos, though the president has previously criticized immigration policies in Europe and backed a travel ban to the United States from six Muslim-majority nations. Trump's travel ban is currently the subject of federal lawsuits from plaintiffs who say Trump is seeking to constrain immigration from Muslims, rather than terror-prone countries. 

Britain First is a far-right, anti-Muslim political organization that was formed in 2011.

In September, its leader Paul Golding, 35, and deputy Fransen, 31, were charged with causing religiously aggravated harassment after distributing leaflets and posting videos on social media during the gang rape trial of three Muslim men and a teenager who were later convicted of rape and imprisoned.

While there are some British news reports that Golding stepped down from the organization for family reasons, his Twitter account still describes him as the group’s leader.

Golding saluted Trump's retweets of Fransen's videos, saying in all capital letters: "DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP!"

Last year, police won an injunction in the High Court to ban Britain First campaigners from all mosques in England and Wales for three years after they were accused of causing community tensions in Luton, a town north of London. It came after the group filmed themselves confronting worshipers and imams in a series of what the local media has called "mosque invasions."

Golding was jailed for eight weeks in December last year for breaching the ban on entering a mosque. Fransen has been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment and fined for verbally abusing a Muslim woman in Luton.

On Wednesday, some British lawmakers and Trump critics immediately condemned what they called the president's anti-Muslim bias in reposting Fransen's videos.

David Lammy, a Labour MP in London, said Trump was not welcome in his country after posting the videos. 

“Trump sharing Britain First. Let that sink in," Lammy tweeted. "The President of the United States is promoting a fascist, racist, extremist hate group whose leaders have been arrested and convicted. He is no ally or friend of ours. @realDonaldTrump you are not welcome in my country and my city.”

Matthew Goodwin, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent in England, said he was surprised to see the U.S. president retweet a "basically neo-Nazi" group.

 "I never thought I would see the President of the United States retweet Britain First. They are not 'nationalist.' They are basically neo-Nazis," he said.

Brian Klaas, author of The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy, tweeted: "Neo-Fascists in the UK celebrating Trump giving them a platform, just as neo-Nazis at the Daily Stormer celebrated Trump's comments at Charlottesville."   

Louise Haigh, a member of parliament for the opposition Labour Party, has called for Britain First to be listed as a terrorist organization and banned from standing in elections.

It remains an open question whether it was a Britain First supporter who killed British lawmaker Jo Cox on June 16, 2016, a week before the nation’s referendum to leave the European Union. The killer, Thomas Mair, 52, repeatedly shouted "Britain first” as he shot and stabbed Cox, the court in London heard during his trial.

The group has distanced itself from the murder. "We had nothing to do with it, we would not condone actions like that,” Golding said. “I hope the person who carried out this heinous crime will get what he deserves."

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Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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