How Jo Cox’s alleged assassin was influenced by neo-NazismAsa Winstanley Rights and Accountability 23 June 2016
Mair talked to a local newspaper in 2011 about volunteering. Image of Cox from her Facebook.Since Jo Cox, a Labour member of Parliament, was shot and stabbed to death in the UK last week, evidence has mounted that the killing was a planned assassination.
A suspect was charged with Cox’s murder the following day.
Thomas Mair, initially described by some media as a “loner with a history of mental health issues” has had links to violent far-right organizations dating back decades.
At his first court appearance last weekend, Mair declared “death to traitors, freedom for Britain.” According to prosecutors, Mair told police “I’m a political activist” upon his arrest, and white supremacist material was found in a police search of his home.
Receipts were also published purporting to show Mair had bought magazine subscriptions and books from a neo-Nazi group in the US. One of these was a guide on how to make improvised explosives and firearms.
A former FBI informant claimed that he met Mair during his time inside the hate group, at a meeting in London intended to expand the group into Europe.
It has also emerged that Mair wrote at least two letters in the 1990s, published in South African Patriot in Exile, a pro-apartheid white nationalist magazine, denouncing “White liberals and traitors” and alluding to the need for a “very bloody struggle.”
The case against Mair is being brought under the terrorism protocol and so the charges can be described as terror-related. Critics say much of the press would have described the attack as terrorism if the suspect had been Muslim.
But the the press, almost uniformly, has not called this political assassination “terrorism.”
Kashif Malik of the Crown Prosecution Service told The Electronic Intifada on Thursday that the charges against Mair reflect the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
When asked why no charges for preparation of a terrorist act had been brought, he said police investigations were ongoing and further charges could be brought.
“Political activist”Mair appeared via video link at London’s central criminal court, the Old Bailey, on Tuesday. He was charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offense and possession of an offensive weapon.
Prosecution lawyer Mark Dawson told The Electronic Intifada that the counterterror office was assisting West Yorkshire Police with its investigation. The case is being handled under the terrorism protocol – which is why it is being heard in London and not where the killing took place.
A written Crown Prosecution Service summary of the case indicates that Mair was waiting for Cox as she arrived in Birstall for one of the regular advice meetings MPs hold with their constituents.
Bernard Kenny, aged 77, saw a man approach Cox as she got out from her car. Almost immediately, the man began to attack her with a knife, according to the prosecutor’s summary. Kenny attempted to aid her, but the man stabbed him in the stomach. Kenny then escaped, seeking assistance.
The summary says that according to witness accounts, the defendant then shot Cox three times as she lay on the ground. He then allegedly continued to stab her, and while doing so “the defendant was heard to say words to the effect of ‘Britain first, keep Britain independent, Britain always comes first, this is for Britain’.”
Cox was pronounced dead an hour later. As Mair was arrested, he told officers “it’s me” and “I’m a political activist.” He gave his name as Thomas Mair of Birstall in Batley – a small town near Leeds in the north of England.
Searching his home, the police found newspaper articles relating to Cox and “ideological material relating to extreme right-wing and white supremacist organizations.”
Police in a statement on Monday said Kenny had been discharged from hospital after treatment for the stabbing.
“Death to traitors”According to press reports, when Mair was asked his name at his initial magistrate’s court appearance on Saturday, he replied “my name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain.”
Under UK law, local media are often barred from reporting many details from criminal court hearings until the conclusion of a case.
One detail they are permitted to report is the defendant’s name. So it seems possible Mair knew giving his name as a slogan would be a sure way to get his message across to supporters via the media.
As a Labour MP, Cox advocated for refugees, particularly Syrians, to be allowed into the country and treated humanely.
She was also part of the Labour Friends of Palestine group, and opposed government moves to legally restrict boycotts of Israel.
The Conservative, Liberal Democrat and UK Independence parties all said they would not stand candidates against Labour in the by-election which will decide Cox’s replacement.
But Jack Buckby, a former British National Party member, said he would stand on behalf of Liberty GB, a far right anti-Muslim party that wants to ban all immigration for five years.
Party leader Paul Weston told the Daily Mirror that Cox was “was more interested in solidarity with Palestinian people than gang rape” – a common Islamophobic trope.
The far right on both sides of the Atlantic have reacted with joy at Cox’s killing.
