Violence flares in Dover

From Hope not Hate by Sarah Archibald:

Royston: Left his black girlfriend at home

Fascists and antifascists have fought each other in Dover as the far-right National Front and their supporters forced a small march through the town.

The far-right promised violence and they delivered it with rocks, bottles and other objects aimed at the police and members of the public.

Before people had even arrived in Dover, a coach from a London University was ambushed and attacked at a service station, injuring the coach driver.

Shortly after one o'clock, antiracist and antifascist protestors blocked the march route and sung the antifascist anthem '¡No pasarán!' which translates as "they shall not pass."

The far-right responded with violence, attacking the police and trying to force their way through police lines to attack people.

Within fifteen minutes the police had lost control as hundreds of protestors traded blows. Antifascists forced the fascists to retreat. The police then used police vans to try and force antifascists away from the fascist march, but large groups broke away to continue confronting each other.

The police did not seem to be prepared for the intensity of the pre-planned violence, despite the far-right going out of their way to promise and boast of the violence they planned to use.

Fascists attack police

One of the consequences of the violence was a number of far-right activists being hit by missiles thrown by their own side. Countless far-right activists were covered in blood as they ran into their own side’s attempts to harm both police and counter protestors.

After an hour long stand off and running battles, police managed to restore some control and marched a small number of fascists to their rally point.

As well as being unprepared for pre-planned violence, one must also ask Kent Police what it is they plan to do about the speeches made at the rally afterwards. As well as congratulating themselves on their violence, a speech by Sunderland fascist Billy Charlton- quite clearly so drunk that he could barely stand- was little more than a bitter, vicious and foul mouthed rant against black people, in particular one black Labour MP that should be actionable by the authorities

One of many threats