Radicals React With Delight to Murder of British Lawmaker

White nationalists in America reacted Friday to the murder of a liberal British member of Parliament a day earlier with a mix of bloody-minded delight, incredible slurs directed at the victim, and deep suspicions that the killing was a government operation meant to keep Britons from voting to leave the European Union.

Jo Cox, a member of the Labour Party, was shot and stabbed to death on the street Thursday, following a meeting in Yorkshire with her constituents. Her alleged killer, Thomas Mair, allegedly shouted out “Britain first” during the attack, what may have been a reference to the far-right Britain First political party. A relative said Mair had a history of mental illness, but he also had a long history in the racist movement. As reported on this blog Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center has records showing that Mair was a supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, at one time the premier hate group in America. Between 1999 and 2003, Mair purchased books from the Alliance’s publishing arm on explosives, incendiaries and improvised munitions, along with at least one book enthusing about Nazi ideology. He also reportedly subscribed to a South African pro-apartheid magazine.

Because Cox was known to speak on behalf of immigrants and refugees, was friendly to Muslims, and opposed Britain leaving the European Union (EU) in a referendum slated for next week, right-wing extremists despised her, though she was not a particularly well-known parliamentarian. British white nationalists want out of the EU because it facilitates the immigration of non-whites and Muslims.

The hate directed at Cox was palpable. On VNN, a hate forum run by a neo-Nazi, “John from Canada” said that Cox “fed n------ and was a promoter of white genocide. She got what she deserved.” On Stormfront, run by a former Alabama Klansman, “Brutus” wrote that “[m]ore of these bastards need to be killed.” “I cannot oppose the brutal, resonative execution of a fairly major politician and a traitor. Woman or not,” wrote “Citizen12,” who added that politicians were “w----- and bastards.”

On the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi site run by Andrew Anglin, it got worse. “I feel no pity for that k--- loving politician,” wrote “WilhelmKeen.” “She and her ilk have destroyed England almost to a point of no return.” “The man is a hero,” “spro23" said of Mair. “Good riddance to the w---- who was stabbed,” said “DrSzell.”

“She is low hanging fruit but a good start,” added another commenter on that site. “Love to wake to the news that high level traitors, like [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [British Prime Minister David] Cameron, shared a similar fate.”

"Citizen12", in another comment, sounded similar. “Wish it had happened to a more prominent rat,” the poster said. “They can all die as far as I’m concerned.”

As is always the case on the radical right, there were a raft of conspiracy theorists talking, too. They found it easy to believe that Cox, who campaigned actively against leaving the European Union in next Thursday’s vote, was killed by forces wanting to ensure that result. The theory is that the establishment was willing to murder Cox in order to discredit those who were agitating to leave the EU.

“Everyone knows that the UK has the toughest, most effective gun laws in the world,” wrote “No_One” on Anglin’s site. “It is impossible for a civilian to possess a firearm in Britain. Therefore, the killer must have been a government agent.”

“I don’t doubt for one second that (((they))) killed this woman to try to stop the Brexit,” another user wrote on the same site, referring to a possible British exit from the EU. (The triple parentheses used by the poster are a new way for white supremacist to identify Jews in their writings.) “Campaigning is on hold, then there’s the sympathy vote.” 

“MI6 or Mossad?” tweeted “Incendiary Radio.” “Coin toss.”

“Mighty_White” put it like this: “If this postpones or cancels the referendum poll, the day of the rope is well and truly upon them. I’ve been practicing my knots.” The “day of the rope” is a reference to a scene in National Alliance founder William Pierce’s novel The Turner Diaries in which “race-mixing” white women are hanged.

The current boss of the National Alliance, Will “White Will” Williams, reacted with rage at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which publishes this blog, for its release of the information about Mair’s purchases from the Alliance. He put out a “press release” describing his group as an “educational organization” and pillorying the SPLC as a “violence-linked, anti-White, Jewish-run organization.” He said the SPLC’s publication of receipts proving Mair purchased Alliance materials was “criminal, wrong, unethical and harmful,” and asserted that the Alliance “has no connection” with Mair. Remarkably, he referred to Cox’s “tragic end.”

Others didn’t bother. Concluded “Neo1” on Stormfront: “Another one bites the dust."