Anti-Trump protesters clash with far-right EDL at London’s US Embassy
Protesters rallying against President-elect Donald Trump outside the US Embassy in London on Wednesday night were confronted by members of the far-right English Defence League (EDL).
Hundreds marched on Grosvenor Square for the Stand Up To Racism protest, accusing Trump of "stirring up fear and racism" during his electoral campaign.
The protesters were, however, confronted by man wearing an EDL t-shirt who tried to provoke the crowd by shouting "white lives matter" and that refugees "are not welcome here."
"Donald Trump is the man. He’s telling it how it is. He’s not all about capitalism. He’s not all about stitching up Americans," said the unidentified man.
He later ripped up a woman’s placard that read "no to racism, no to Trump."
"People in America will tell you ‘Black Lives Matter,’ we’ve got people killing police officers who are affiliated with Black Lives Matter," he went on shouting.
"We are people here representing White Lives Matter, representing the EDL.
"Refugees are not welcome here. Because they come here, they rape our children."
Protesters cut him off with boos and chants of "refugees are welcome here."
A US citizen at the protest told the Huffington Post she had just had her girlfriend sobbing on the phone from the United States.
"We have a president who hates us. I am afraid for everyone. All my friends and family in New York. I’m afraid I won’t be able to marry the person I love because Trump could revoke the right for gay people to get married," she said.
"It’s a really, really scary time. We’re all horrified this has happened."
At the Donald Trump protest outside the London US Embassy pic.twitter.com/6W2OdB2uYs
— Ikran (@ikrandahir) November 9, 2016
Another protester told the Independent: "Donald is the name of a duck in America. He’s the only Donald we should know. This Donald is a quack."
The Met Police said no arrests had been made at the demonstration, but two EDL members were reported at the embassy showing their support for Trump.
Far-right groups in America, such as the neo-Nazi National Socialist Party, have been vocal about their support for the billionaire President-elect.
I'm at the US Embassy in London, where people are protesting #Trump' selection pic.twitter.com/XBfpcvMoAq
— Bridie Pearson-Jones (@bridiepjones) November 9, 2016
"Donald Trump used the oldest trick in the book – he stirred up fear and racism in the context of a stagnant economy and the resulting fall in living standards – to mobilize a vote for him," said Stand Up to Racism co-convenor Sabby Dhalu.
"Racism and sexism have been the hallmarks of Trump’s campaign. Trump failed to disavow the Ku Klux Klan after it pledged support for him.
"The danger now is racists across the globe feel emboldened by Donald Trump’s victory, and racism and sexism become normalized through the most powerful figure in the world."
