From the Guardian · · 4m
An unsettling week with the Patriot Platform
Masked men in balaclavas blockaded Dover, then their leader raised £62,000 to move his mum. Inside Britain's newest anti-migrant movement.
In brief
Masked men in balaclavas blockaded Dover, then their leader raised £62,000 to move his mum. Inside Britain's newest anti-migrant movement. The Patriot Platform is not chasing mass numbers. It wants small, drilled units willing to take direct action, funded and amplified by social media. Originally reported by the…
7am in Dover
Livestreamed footage showed dozens of men in paramilitary outfits jumping from the backs of vehicles, faces covered by balaclavas, hands in black gloves.
Hundreds in black
Within an hour, hundreds more masked agitators dressed head to toe in black, some in silver crosses, marched through the town and blockaded the busy port for hours.
“Stop the boats”
A new kind of protest
Anti-immigration protests have been common in Britain for five years. Last weekend's launch of the Patriot Platform marked a real shift in both rhetoric and tactics.
Militia meets influencer
A disciplined, militaristic operation with manosphere undertones, run by people skilled at pulling together flashmobs and working social media algorithms to raise money.
Christ and the Channel
The most unnerving part was the masks plus the Christian chanting fused with anti-migrant anger. Protesters shouted "Christ is king" as they blocked the port.
“We're doing this under Christianity. We're doing this with Christian British and English men. We're not doing this with thugs.”
A million views, £4.99 a month
Footage on leader Daniel Thomas's YouTube page passed a million views. Visitors are invited to pay a monthly fee to join his community of so-called patriots.
Even Farage recoiled
Reform UK's Nigel Farage called the display disgusting. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, told police to make full use of new powers to ban face coverings at protests.
“Nobody, at any political protest, whether they're on the left or right, should be wearing balaclavas.”
Threat or clown
Analysts spent the week arguing over whether the group has staying power. Searchlight asked if Danny Tommo was a threat or a clown, and concluded: a bit of both.
More vigilante in style
Hope Not Hate's Joe Mulhall called Dover an alarming development, dangerous if protesters keep targeting boats. The rhetoric, optics and recruiting all point somewhere new.
“It's much more vigilante in style, and organised in a more clandestine way.”
A long British line
From Mosley's blackshirts to the National Front, the BNP, the EDL and Britain First. National Action also wore masks, and was banned as a terrorist group in 2016.
Who Danny Tommo is
Thomas, 37, ran a roofing firm, cage fights, and worked as a bodyguard to Tommy Robinson. He served two years for attempted kidnapping, then said he gave his life to Jesus.
“I repented; I gave my life to Jesus.”
Knee-deep in the sea
After a second protest in Portsmouth, Thomas waded into cold water to block a boat carrying around 120 asylum seekers, then rallied masked men to stop the coaches.
“I need these migrants to go home.”
Not spontaneous at all
Police first called Dover spontaneous. In fact Thomas spent the summer touring Britain, folding small local protest groups into one umbrella and filming recruits outside churches.
“working-class men, bricklayers, roofers and carpenters”
No manifesto, just clips
The website offers only vague intent. Thomas sets out his views in phone clips filmed from a parked car, claiming migrants endanger Britain's women and children.
“For too long we've been walking down roads and waving flags and thinking this is somehow going to save us.”
Tommo's Mum
By Wednesday the campaign turned personal. He massed men outside the Daily Mail's HQ, demanding his mother be rehoused in 48 hours after a row over identifying her address.
£62,000 and a grifting charge
An online fundraiser for his mother's move passed £62,000 by Friday. Some sympathetic commentators called the personal appeal a grift.
“Help Danny Tommo's Mum Relocate: a fresh start after unfair media harassment.”
Breaking from Robinson
Robinson has pushed for the mainstream: no face coverings, open Facebook groups, police notified, women welcome. Thomas is going the other way, on purpose.
“This is less about attracting mass numbers, and more about them saying: 'We're going to take things into our own hands.'”
Overlord already failed
A similar push on French beaches, branded Operation Overlord, collapsed. France banned Thomas from returning, saying hate-inciting tactics have no place there.
“Violent and hate-inciting tactics have no place in our territory.”
Drilled like troops
Clips show activists answering in unison, sergeant-major style. Thomas asks if they are here to stand up for their women, they shout yes, and he ends by bellowing "Amen".
“Are we here to hurt the police?”
A dummy run
The Church of England says the cross on these marches is a fashion accessory for opportunists. Thomas calls Dover a dummy run, and is in court again in October.
“not the cross of Christ but rather a fashion accessory utilised by opportunists”
The main idea
The Patriot Platform is not chasing mass numbers. It wants small, drilled units willing to take direct action, funded and amplified by social media.
