In April, Indymedia reported on an attack perpetrated by Merseyside BNP activists Steve Greenhalgh and Peter Tierney, which took place in Liverpool City Centre on St George's Day. [ http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/liverpool/2009/04/428297.html] Greenhalgh and Tierney used an upended table and a folded camera tripod respectively as weapons against anti-fascists who had routed their leafleting with counter-leafleting in and around their location.

Despite Tierney's lies, which got one anti-fascist arrested for "assaulting" him, he was ultimately taken into custody and released on bail. The arrested anti-fascist was also bailed, but only after being held in the same station as Tierney and subsequently followed home by a car full of BNP activists threatening "we know where you live, we’re going to fucking kill you."

On Monday, Tierney answered his police bail at St Anne's Street police station. The bailconditions for both Tierney and the victim he claimed to be his assailant included a ban on entering the City Centre, and those conditions were reasserted. Tierney is set to face trial at the Liverpool Magistrates Court on the 5th of August and, as the Merseyside BNP blog reports, BNP activists "will be holding a 2nd Demo outside of the Magistrates Court as he attends." Their intent is to show that they "will not be intimidated and bullied by the state" who have "set a dangerous precedent that decent members of the public CAN NOT defend themselves against attackers." They are in fact demonstrating that their party stands in defence of savage violence by those who grap weapons when faced with non-violent opposition.

As of yet, no counter-demonstration has been arranged to face the fascist contingent outside the courthouse. Even if, as in countless prior Liverpool demonstrations, their numbers baely scrape fifty, they need to be opposed. Merseyside anti-fascists need to show that we will not accept fascist violence under the transparent pretext of "self-defence" against the non-violent, and Tierney needs to learn that the opposition and dissent he so hates will not simply fade away because he picks up a weapon.