A Scottish activist has been charged with a “hate crime” over a small banner displayed at a peaceful protest in Aberdeen saying that White people have a right to exist.
Richard McFarlane, 59, a member of community and activist group Patriotic Alternative, was arrested at his home on October 15 and charged with “stirring up hatred” under Scotland’s controversial new Hate Crime and Public Order Act, which came into effect in April last year.
The charges were laid over the hand-painted banner, which was briefly tied to a fence during the demonstration outside a hotel against illegal immigration three weeks earlier, saying: “Because Humza thinks Scotland is too White, we must secure the existence of our people and a future for White children.”
The first part of the phrase is a reference to an infamous speech given by former first minister Humza Yousaf in 2020 where he complained about White people holding too many positions of power in Scotland, while the remainder is a popular White nationalist slogan.
Mr McFarlane, who was released on bail under conditions including a ban from the site of the protest, told Noticer News he intended to plead not guilty, and described the charge as “obviously malicious and vexatious, showing that the judicial process is in fact the punishment”.
“People of any race are allowed to advocate for their own race’s protection, and it’s not a hate crime,” he said.
“My actions at Aberdeen were based on love. In no part of this banner were expressed any anti-Asian sentiment or any notions that White people are superior to any other race or that they must harm or eliminate in any way any other racial group.
“This point is backed up by the other banners paraded at Aberdeen, as well as the conduct of myself at various protests. When the police asked me to take the banner down, I took it down immediately, and complied with their polite request.”
Mr McFarlane said the charge exposed a “clear racial double standard”, and showed that simply defending White people was considered “inherently hostile to other races” by police, while the opposite was allowed at Black Lives Matter protests.
“The message is simple self defence of my people. Those who oppose that banner message are in fact racially prejudiced against White people,” he said.
Patriotic Alternative leader Mark Collett described the charge as “political persecution”.
“This is an example of political policing and two-tier justice and another perfect example of Britain’s repressive anti-free speech laws that are being used to silence political dissidents who oppose White-replacement and antiwhite policy making,” he said.
“We will support Richard, and if his case goes to trial, we will support him in any way we can.”
Mr McFarlane will appear in Aberdeen Sheriff Court on November 13.
Header image: Left, the banner. Right, two other protesters at the event (supplied).
