'Day for Freedom' protest in London : Milo Yiannopoulos and Tommy Robinson to speak
MARTIN COULTER
3 hours ago
The Evening Standard
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Tommy Robinson (left) and Milo Yiannopoulos in a promotional video for the 'Day of Freedom' (YouTube/TommyRobinson)
A band of far-right speakers including Tommy Robinson and Milo Yiannopoulos are expected to speak at a 'Day for Freedom' rally in Whitehall today.
Thousands have registered their interest in an online Facebook event, which suggests controversial YouTubers Count Dankula and Sargon of Akkad will also appear at the event near Downing Street.
Mr Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley - is the former leader of the English Defence League and a correspondent for Canadian right-wing vlog channel The Rebel Media.
The rally, which organisers say is to "defend free speech", will begin at Whitehall in central London at 3pm.
Mr Yiannopoulos, often referred to as a leading member of the 'alt right' movement, is a Trump-supporting anti-feminist, recently disgraced for describing victims of child sexual abuse as "whinging selfish brats". YouTuber Mark Meechan - best known as Count Dankula - is expected to appear. Meechan became an outspoken free speech advocate after he was fined £800 for teaching his girlfriend's pet dog to perform a Nazi salute.
Sargon of Akkad - real name Carl Benjamin - is known for his criticism of feminism, Islam, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the notion of "straight white male privilege".
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Mark Meechan wit the pug he taught to do a Nazi salute (Go Fund Me)In March, Mr Benjamin was forced to end a talk at King's College London prematurely when a group of masked "anti-fascist" protesters stormed the building, setting off fire alarms and smoke bombs.
In a statement, Mr Robinson said: "This is bigger than me or any of us as individuals so we have to stand up together to defend our freedom of speech.
"We decided to focus our efforts on making sure we pull off a large scale, credible event. So we won't be marching - instead we have an incredible line-up of speakers, performers, videos and content to offer on the day.
"We want to make May 6 the biggest Free Speech demonstration the UK has seen so please, help us make it happen."
The Anti-Fascist Student Network (AFSN) urged opponents to join the planned counter-demonstration, writing: "On Sunday, thousands of far-right anti-Muslim bigots will be marching through central London, anti-fascists from across the country need to take to the streets to oppose them.
“Since forming the EDL back in 2009, Robinson has been stirring up hatred against Muslims...Robinson may be trying to reinvent himself as a journalist, but he's still pushing the same hatred.” The speakers are expected to be joined by members of the right-wing 'Democratic Football Lads Alliance' and the 'Veterans Against Terrorism' groups.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...-a3830671.html
