Thomas Mair
Thomas Mair, a 52-year-old from Batley, West Yorkshire, was charged with the murder of British Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016.
In court, Mair gave his name as "death to traitors, freedom for Britain".[1]
Contents
Reported far-right links
Springbok Club and National Front
Mair was mentioned in a 2006 newsletter of the neo-imperialist [[Springbok Club] and described him as “one of the earliest subscribers and supporters of S.A.Patriot”, the magazine published by the club.[2] However, the note also suggested that his connection with the Club had ended prior to 2006. After the killing of Jo Cox MP, a statement was issued by S.A. Patriot editor Alan Harvey stating that Mair had been a subscriber in the 1980s but dissociating the Springbok Club from him.[3]
Harvey's claim that the club had "no further contact with him after a brief correspondence in the mid 1980s" was contradicted by the emergence of two letters by Mair published in South African Patriot in Exile 1991 and 1999. Mair states that he was introduced to the magazine by the British National Front, rails against "collaborators" and "traitors" and one concludes "I still have faith that the White Race will prevail, both in Britain and in South Africa, but I fear that it's going to be a very long and very bloody struggle".[4] In one letter Mair also laments the killing of John McMichael, an Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) leader who was arrested following the attempted assassination of former MP Bernadette McAliskey and her husband in County Tyrone in 1981, though charges were later dropped.[5]
Britain First
Following Mair's arrest, two witnesses alleged that they heard the person who attacked Jo Cox shout "put Britian First" or “Britain First”, possibly a reference to the far-right political party. Paul Golding, the leader of Britain First denied any link and issued a statement saying the group “were as shocked as anyone”, that Mair was “categorically not a member” and that the organisation "would not condone actions like that".[6]
National Alliance and British National Party
Neo-Nazi regalia was found in Mair's house by police following his arrest. The Southern Poverty Law Center published receipts it said showed Mair was a "longtime supporter" of the US neo-Nazi group National Alliance, founded by William Pierce, including purchasing subscriptions for periodicals and a manual that included instructions on how to build a pistol in 1999.[7]
In late May 2000, Mair reportedly attended a meeting in London Stephen Cartwirght, Mark Cotteril and Richard Barnbrook of the British National Party (BNP), arranged at the request of William Pierce of the National Alliance. A paid FBI informant Todd Blodgett who was at the meeting said he believed Mair was associated with National Alliance’s Leeds chapter.[8]
Notes
- ↑ Jo Cox murder suspect tells court his name is 'death to traitors, freedom for Britain', The Guardian, 18 June 2016
- ↑ Kim Sengupta, Jo Cox death: Suspect linked to far-right political group that campaigned against the EU, The Independent, 16 June 2016
- ↑ Here’s What We Know About the Man who was Arrested After the Killing of Jo Cox MP, Buzzfeed, 16 June 2016
- ↑ Alex Amend, Here Are the Letters Thomas Mair Published in a Pro-Apartheid Magazine, Southern Poverty Law Centre, 20 June 2016
- ↑ Mark Maloney, Jo Cox murder accused lauded loyalist leader behind attempted murder of Bernadette McAliskey, Anphoblacht, 21 June 2016
- ↑ Britain First Leader Paul Golding Releases Statement On Facebook Over The Death Of MP Jo Cox, Huffington Post, 16 June 2016
- ↑ Alleged Killer of British MP was Longtime Suporter of Neo-Nazi National Alliance, Southern Poverty Law Center, 16 June 2016
- ↑ Mark Potok, Accused British Assassin Thomas Mair Attended Racists' 2000 Meeting, Southern Poverty Law Centre, 19 June 2016
