What Happened to the Liverpool Rioters?
In the August of 2024, thousands of people around the United Kingdom took to the streets after the shocking child killing spree in Southport. Many had misguidedly fallen victim to racism-driven propaganda put forward by bad actors on the far right, others were simply angry and emotional and had no other way to show it, but whatever each individual’s reasons for joining in, it turned into an appalling riot.
The country has long been descending into anarchy and lawlessness, with people on both sides of the political spectrum frustrated by the current state of affairs. There’s no denying that the vast majority of those involved in these riots were right wing, and Liverpool had its fair share of such rioters, but what’s happened to them since?
What Caused the Riots
On the 29th of July 2024, three young children were horrifically murdered during a mass stabbing at a dance party in Southport.
In the immediate aftermath, false claims were spread by members of the far-right that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker. This leant into Islamophobic, racist tropes that had been spread by some in the media as well as right-wing publications, in turn leading to protests and riots erupting around the country.
They began in Southport itself, soon spreading to other cities around the UK and making their way down to the main parts of Liverpool.
@ajplus Anti-Muslim rioters across England and Ireland attacked businesses and police, set cars on fire and looted shops. It’s been called a “pogrom against Muslims.” #Riots #Racism #Stockport #England #Ireland ♬ Mystery / Suspense Investigation / Investigation / Thinking(1179817) – DaikixCousin
The riots in Liverpool mainly took place on the third of August, when two groups holding separate protests joined up on the Pier Head, moving along The Strand to Church Street. Soon, damage was being caused in different areas, such as the looting of Spellow Library and a community hub in Walton being set on fire.
A police officer was pushed off his motorbike, being injured in the process, whilst the throwing of items like bricks and bottles injured other officers. Two members of the police ended up being admitted to hospital, one with a broken nose and the other with a broken jaw.
Arrests Were Made
By the fifth of August, as many as 378 people had been arrested for their part in the riots that had taken place around the country. That included three men who had admitted being involved in what had happened in Southport and Liverpool, resulting in one of them, Derek Drummonf, being given a three-year sentence for punching a police officer.
Declan Geiran, meanwhile, was jailed for a period of two years and five months after he set fire to a police vehicle. A 40-year-old named Liam James Riley was jailed for one-and-a-half years for racially aggravated assault and violent disorder.
The racist thickos at in again in my city, at the Pier Head 😡 loving the Scousers singing nazi scum off our streets! #Liverpool
If you didn’t know these riots are establishment created, slimeballs Farage, Tice, Robinson, Hopkins etc all agents of the state. Blame the Muslims not the billionaires!
— John Mc 𓅛 #20Times 💪 (@johnmcnwoods.kawaii.social) 3 August 2024 at 16:32
The three men were quickly taken to Liverpool Crown Court for the sentencing, becoming the first to be given a sentence for the disorder.
Other people soon followed, being arrested in places such as Manchester and Cheshire. One of those who was later arrested in the October was a 14-year-old boy from Liverpool, who was detained alongside a 16-year-old, showing that the young were also being swept up by the propaganda all over the internet.
The total arrests on Merseyside had risen to 136 by that point, with 94 of those having been charged and 73 sentenced.
Liverpool Stood Defiant
Liverpool has a long and proud history of standing up to the far-right, from the time that Oswald Mosley was knocked unconscious whilst trying to peddle his hate and giving a fascist salute, through to when the neo-Nazi group National Action were left humiliated and had to be locked in the Left Luggage at Lime Street Station.
There is no pretending that things weren’t slightly different this time around, however. Too many people bought into ideologies the far-right were trying to promote, with many chanting ‘Tommy Robinson’ whilst gathered at the Pier Head. Some were undoubtedly racist thugs, others were perhaps just angry and without a better outlet, but all behaved disgracefully.
Yet the majority of people from the city are kind-hearted and good, turning up in their droves in the aftermath of the riots in order to help clean up. The Spellow Library was backed with the sense of community spirit, working to try to rebuild what they could in the days, weeks and months that followed it being set on fire.
On the 12th of December, the library was able to reopen after £250,000 was raised and books were donated by everyone from the Queen to celebrities. On the street where rioters had been on the rampage, a lantern parade took place instead.
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If you want to get a true sense of the people of Liverpool, then don’t look at the people who simply want to sow division. Instead, witness the work of the Imam and members of his mosque who made the decision to take food and drink out to the angry protesters, hoping to educate them.
Liverpool is a city of love and acceptance, one where, to quote Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey, they don’t care what your name is, they’ll never turn you away.
