‘Celebrating murder’: Far-right protest turns violent as Musk blames the left for Charlie Kirk’s death

London: More than 110,000 protesters have joined a London rally led by activists who chanted support for slain American conservative Charlie Kirk and heard strident calls to blame the left for celebrating his murder.

Members of the huge crowd turned violent as the rally spilled through the streets around the British parliament, with protesters accused of assaulting police and leaving 26 officers with injuries ranging from broken teeth to concussion.

The protest organiser, controversial far-right activist Tommy Robinson, has gained support for his campaigns against migration and asylum seekers, and he promoted the rally as a “Unite the Kingdom” march to defend free speech.

While the march began without violence and most demonstrators were peaceful, some of the protesters assaulted police, who arrested 25 people and are expected to arrest more in coming days.

Billionaire Elon Musk told the crowd in a video address that Britain was being destroyed by uncontrolled migration and that left-wing movements should be held responsible for the assassination of Kirk in Utah on Thursday.

“There’s so much violence on the left, with our friend Charlie Kirk getting murdered in cold blood this week and people on the left celebrating it openly,” he said. “The left is the party of murder and celebrating murder.”

Musk attacked what he called the “woke mind virus” of the left and called for a shift in power in Britain to remove Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour government.

“There’s got to be a dissolution of parliament and a new vote held,” he said.

Starmer was elected in July last year and the next general election is not due until 2029.

While the protest was arranged weeks ago as a rally for free speech, it turned into a show of force for a British variant of the “Make America Great Again” movement as protesters held up photographs of Kirk and chanted his name.

“The start of the revolution is on,” Robinson said in a video before the march. Later, he claimed 3 million people attended the rally, but police said it ranged from 110,000 to 150,000.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has served five prison terms and was most recently jailed last October for contempt of court for making false allegations about a refugee despite an injunction.

He was arrested in August over allegations he punched a man at a London train station, but he was not charged because the alleged victim declined to make a statement to police.

Speakers at the Saturday rally included right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins, a former reality television contestant who was deported from Australia in 2021 for refusing to follow quarantine rules during the pandemic.

There was no endorsement, however, from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has split with Robinson because of his criminal convictions.

“We’re a political party aiming to win the next general election,” Farage said in January. “He’s not what we need.”

Musk, however, strongly backed Robinson and attacked Farage earlier this year, while also breaking with US President Donald Trump, highlighting the rifts on the conservative side of politics.

Steve Bannon, a key adviser to Trump, was said to be speaking at the event, after saying in an interview three days ago that the UK was heading toward a “civil war” where citizens fought the rise of what he called socialism. He did not appear.

The numbers proved too great for the streets around the Palace of Westminster, highlighting the scale of discontent in Britain and drawing parallels with similar movements elsewhere in Europe.

The crowd heard from politicians from far-right German party Alternative für Deutschland, or AfD, as well as similar speakers from France and Denmark.

On a Saturday afternoon marked by sunshine and occasional rain, the crowd converged on Parliament Square in numbers that were larger than anticipated and put pressure on police lines created to ensure safe exits.

The Metropolitan Police said 26 officers were injured at the rally, with some of the protesters punching and kicking police, as well as throwing projectiles such as bottles and flares.

By the time the protest was over, the Met Police had made 25 arrests for offences including affray, violent disorder, assaults and criminal damage. Others were identified as having committed offences, and the police said, “we will find them” in coming days.

In a post before any signs of violence, the Met Police said they were using a mobile CCTV van to help monitor the crowd but were not using live facial recognition.

“We estimate the attendance at that event to have been between 110,000 to 150,000, significantly exceeding the estimates of organisers,” the police said.

A rival protest organised by a group called Stand Up To Racism had at least 5000 people.

While the Met Police sent 1000 local officers to keep the peace, another 500 had to be drawn from outlying areas as support for the event appeared to grow in the wake of Kirk’s assassination.

Most of the violence appeared to come from Robinson’s supporters among the far-right, including reports that some threw bottles at female police on horseback, but there were also accounts of violence from anti-fascist protesters.

“There is no doubt that many came to exercise their lawful right to protest, but there were many who came intent on violence,” said Met Police assistant commissioner Matt Twist.

“The 25 arrests we have made so far is just the start.

“Our post-event investigation has already begun – we are identifying those who were involved in the disorder and they can expect to face robust police action in the coming days and weeks.”

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