First minister calls for end to vexatious reports after far-right agitators attempt to ‘overwhelm’ official systems

Neo-Nazi and far-right agitators are exploiting Scotland’s new hate crime law to make vexatious complaints en masse in an attempt to “overwhelm” police systems.

A prominent figure in England’s white nationalist movement is among those urging followers to spam Police Scotland with anonymous online reports, the *Observer *has found.

The leader of a far-right group – one of several fringe organisations being assessed by the UK government under its new extremism definition – promoted a private channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram that includes a “call to action” urging members to “mass report”.

Posts in the channel instruct members to log cases of supposed “anti-white” hate, which they say includes a statement on the police force’s website that “young men aged 18-30 are most likely to commit hate crime”.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    -97 months ago

    And this is why the US First Amendment standards for freedom of speech should be adopted everywhere.

    • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ
      link
      English
      0
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      Hate speech is not necessarily protected by the First Amendment.

      • @SlothMama
        link
        English
        37 months ago

        Factually incorrect, it is typically quite well protected in the US.