‘It’s Ballsy of Them’: How Emboldened Far-Right Activists Are Attacking Antifascist Strongholds in Bristol [Bristol Patriots gather at the Cenotaph in Bristol, to protest against immigration on 5 October 2025. Photo: JMF News/Alamy Live News] When Red discovered that far-right activists were round the corner targeting her local pub, she felt sick. “I felt like I had to go and confront them,” she told Novara Media. “It felt like life or death.” Around 30 masked activists known as the Bristol Patriots had surrounded the Red Lion in Easton, Bristol, as it hosted an antifascist fundraising gig. A photo seen by Novara Media shows balaclava-clad men outside the pub carrying a St George’s flag. One was wearing what appeared to be a stab vest with union jack patches while another two were wearing tactical gloves with hardened knuckles. “For over an hour, the group surrounded the pub, blocked access points, used amplified sound equipment, chanted slogans, and directed abuse toward people entering and leaving the premises,” according to [a statement][1] put out by the Red Lion on Facebook. “Passing members of the public, including families and local residents, were subjected to shouted threats and intimidation.” Red, who spoke to Novara Media using a pseudonym, said: “I spoke to one of them [the Bristol Patriots] and said, ‘Why have you come to our community to cause violence?’ They saw my keffiyeh and they called me a terrorist … It was really bizarre.” According to [a statement][2] put out by Bristol Antifascists, the far-right activists tried to enter the pub, but “due to the quick thinking of people there, they were shut out”. Thanks to a “great community response”, they eventually became outnumbered and were “forced out of the area by police for their own protection,” Bristol Antifascists said. [Mask-wearing Bristol Patriots outside the Red Lion in Eastonm, Bristol on Sunday 15 February. Photo: Supplied]Mask-wearing Bristol Patriots outside the Red Lion in Easton, Bristol, on Sunday 15 February. Photo: Supplied The incident, which took place in mid-February, shocked those who live in Bristol, a city widely viewed as an antifascist haven. What was even more unusual was that it took place in Easton. “Easton is a proudly leftwing part of Bristol,” local resident Malachi Walusimbi-Kakembo told Novara Media. “To come into Easton is bold.” Another local anti-racist, who chose not to give their name, agreed. “Easton has got such an active antifascist, anti racist scene. “It was really unusual for [the far right] to try something at one of those pubs in Easton. … It’s ballsy of them.” Bristol Antifascists warned that the attack was “an escalation” from the Bristol Patriots, and should be a “wake up call for all of us” about how the far-right is becoming more and more emboldened. “We invest in our community and take care of one another, and we’re not succumbing to the fascist rhetoric that’s becoming so popular globally,” said Red. “So it was devastating to see that nowhere is safe.” ### Playing the victim. Bristol, a port city, played a major role in the transatlantic slave trade, but its recent history is one of antiracism and a vibrant leftwing counterculture. Its residents achieved global acclaim during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 when they [toppled a statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston][3]. At the 2024 general election, Bristol Central was one of four constituencies across the country to elect a Green MP – Carla Denyer. Despite this, Bristol has been far from immune from the wave of far-right protests sweeping the country in recent months. Hotels in the city housing asylum seekers were the target of anti-migrant demonstrations last year, including one led by Ukip leader Nick Tenconi [who branded Bristol][4] a “communist run hell hole”. While anti-migrant protests have died down for now, far-right groups appear to be keeping themselves busy by harassing the left. Just a week after the attack on the Red Lion in Easton, activists from [Zionist group Our Fight][5] prevented pro-Palestine activists from holding a doorknocking session in Bishopston, to the north of the city, to encourage people to boycott Israeli products. An organiser for Bristol Apartheid Free Zone, who chose not to be named, told Novara Media: “They [the Zionist activists] surrounded us and started harassing people and shouting. They had placards accusing us of being a Jew hunt, and various other very unpleasant and like slanderous things about the campaign. “We had three times as many people, but the whole point of our campaign is we’re about having calm conversations with people on the doorstep. If you’ve got people following you around, screaming slurs and playing incredibly obnoxious AI music [through a PA system] or filming people, we can’t really doorknock in that situation.” Some pro-Palestine campaigners were approached by Zionist activists and spoken to “by name … in a very intimidating way,” the organiser said. “They [the Zionist activists] have infiltrated some of the public facing WhatsApp groups.” The organiser said that members of the local far-right were also in attendance on the day, “being brought along for the ride… to intimidate lefties and throw their weight around.” A post on the Bristol Patriots Facebook page showed support for Our Fight and called the doorknocking “an intimidating practice that targets and harasses our Jewish community” and anyone who has their door knocked to “report to police straight away”. Our Fight has been approached for comment. The far right also played the victim in the Easton incident. Despite turning up in balaclavas and surrounding the pub, the Bristol Patriots claimed in a statement that its members had been “approached aggressively from behind” by antifascists, that a female member of the group was punched and that a disabled man was “targeted”. “The Bristol Patriot’s statement was absolute nonsense,” said Red. “They came into our neighborhood as outsiders, all ballied up, screaming and shouting and threatening us like attacking us, and they are claiming that they are the victims. It’s surreal.” The Red Lion said in a statement that the Bristol Patriots “portrayal of themselves as disciplined victims does not match what is visible on CCTV or described consistently by witnesses”. Keith Hewett, the owner of the Red Lion in Easton, told Novara Media that the barman who was present on the day was left shaken by the far right. “He’s no wallflower, but the hatred that they were showing him really upset him and made him not want to come in anymore,” he said. The furore has only intensified since February, said Hewett. “We’ve had threats. We had what can only be described as a scout from the far-right in the pub. I’ve been forwarded stuff on social media from rightwing networks inferring that the Lion is some kind of Antifa HQ.” Hewett sees the pub’s antifascist ethos as nothing out of the ordinary, however. “It’s just a community pub. Most people are antifascist, especially around here,” he said. “You don’t even have to be leftwing to be antifascist.” ### ‘We’re proud of who we are.’ The Bristol Patriots website contains little information about who is behind the group. Calling itself “a grassroots movement of concerned citizens”, its code of conduct prohibits “any form of violence, intimidation, or threatening behaviour” and bans face masks or coverings, saying “we are proud of who we are”. The only upcoming event listed on the website, meanwhile, is an upcoming rally organised by ex-English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. On Saturday, the Bristol Patriots held their own march – a so-called ‘March for Unity’. The group promoted the march by calling for members of all major religions other than Muslims to take a stand against the “growing challenge from Islamist extremism”. An online poster for the event, presumably AI generated, depicted a crusader in full plate armour next to a man holding an Israeli flag and a turban-wearing Sikh. Among those in attendance was Ryan Ferguson, a far-right activist [who recently visited][6] the former spokesperson for neo-Nazi terror group National Action, Jack Renshaw, in prison. Ferguson was [captured on video shouting][7] “Heil Hitler” at the rally. Also present was 17-year-old “Young Bob”, a prominent far-right YouTuber who often appears on Rupert Murdoch’s Talk TV. He posted a video in which he gloated as anti-racists were arrested by police, then another of himself getting punched, which went viral. In a sign that a small group of hardened activists were emboldened by their action at the Red Lion in February, Walusimbi-Kakembo told Novara Media that attendees of Saturday’s rally, who this time chose not to wear face masks, taunted people about the incident. “They were shouting at us, ‘Remember down the Red Lion. Are you still scared?’ Making a joke of it,” he said. “They seemed to be very excited about their record, coming down to the Red Lion and scaring a few people.” “It’s a surprise to realise that it is the same group of enthusiasts running around from place to place, trying to cause as much disruption as possible.” “It’s sad that people are coming out here and literally fighting each other. It’s a shame. Neither side should really end up in glee about the fact that we’re working class people throwing stuff at one another.” In the end, the “March for Unity” was an embarrassment for the Bristol Patriots. Around 40 activists spent much of the day surrounded by police in order to be kept apart from around 200 antifascists, and the scale of the anti-fascist counter-demo meant police did not allow the Bristol Patriots to stick to their original route. The group made a statement issuing an “apology regarding some of the other groups who were invited to the march by certain individuals within our community … many of the views displayed on Saturday do not align with our movement.” “It is time for us to reset,” it said. After a difficult few weeks, Red found the day comforting. “A greasy handful of fascist and far-right agitators came to our beloved city and were sent packing”, she said. “It felt like a victory that they were so outnumbered.” [1]: https://www.facebook.com/TheLionBS5/posts/joint-community… [2]: https://network23.org/bristolantifascists/2026/02/17/on-t… [3]: https://www.vice.com/en/article/black-lives-matter-protes… [4]: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/ukip-lead… [5]: https://www.vashtimedia.com/inside-stop-the-hate-the-pro-… [6]: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/far-… [7]: https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/moment-ne… https://novaramedia.com/2026/03/12/its-ballsy-of-them-how…