{"id":823033,"date":"2026-03-13T12:48:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/823033\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T12:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T12:48:29","slug":"the-rise-and-fall-of-bristol-patriots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/823033\/","title":{"rendered":"The rise and fall of Bristol Patriots"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s shortly before 11am on March 7, and a few demonstrators draped in Union flags are beginning to gather by the cenotaph in the city centre. They\u2019re here to take part in a so-called \u2018March for Unity\u2019 organised by the Bristol Patriots, a group that emerged in 2025, targeting hotels housing people seeking asylum.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve since branched out into an aggressive campaign of harassment against leftwing groups in the city, but today\u2019s march, according to fliers, is about uniting Christians, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs against \u201cextremism\u201d \u2013 a thinly veiled, if not explicitly clear, Islamophobic message.<\/p>\n

Among the small crowd are two unofficial security guards, both clad in what they claim are bulletproof and stab-proof vests, walkie-talkies at the ready. The pair have been seen before cosplaying as security at related \u2018patriotic\u2019 demonstrations in Cheltenham, as well as here in Bristol.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before the march gets going, the pair dash off towards the Harbourside. They return with self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Ryan Ferguson sandwiched between them. He receives a celebrity welcome by the dozen or so Bristol Patriots, who queue to meet him and take selfies with him.<\/p>\n

\"\"Self-proclaimed neo-Nazi Ryan Ferguson joined the Bristol Patriots for their demonstration<\/p>\n

Ferguson is not the only outright fascist in their ranks that morning. The \u2018patriots\u2019 are joined by a child sex offender, a bank robber, and other unsavoury figures identified by antifascist research organisation Hope Not Hate with the Cable\u2019s support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The march would descend into a dismal, hate-filled spectacle \u2014 one ultimately stopped in its tracks by a well-organised, far larger group of antifascist counter-protesters. And it may well mark the end for the far-right group that has spent almost a year sowing hatred and division across the city.<\/p>\n

\u2018The events speak for themselves\u2019<\/p>\n

Shortly before 1pm, the Bristol Patriot\u2019s march from the cenotaph is brought to a standstill on Union Street. Surrounded by hundreds of antifascists, tensions rise as scuffles begin to break out. The police presence is heavy \u2014 officers on horseback, others carrying batons.<\/p>\n

In footage<\/a> captured by the Cable, Ferguson directs a stream of abuse at two Jewish antifascists, shouting: \u201cI am a Nazi, yeah. What are you gonna do about it? I\u2019m a neo-Nazi, you Jewish little c*nt. Heil Hitler\u2026 it\u2019s not an offence\u2026 In the bunker.\u201d<\/p>\n

His grotesque tirade, accompanied by Nazi salutes, continues as police officers barely flinch \u2013\u00a0 never mind telling him to stop or arresting him for a hate crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Bristol Patriot march is brought to a stand still as they\u2019re surrounded by a far larger group of antifascists<\/p>\n

\u201c[Ferguson] was mouthing things at me like \u2018six million\u2019 and other antisemitic stuff, clear references to the Holocaust and gas,\u201d one of the protesters who received the abuse tells the Cable. \u201cIt\u2019s quite shocking to see a proud, out-and-out Nazi on Bristol\u2019s streets,\u201d they add. \u201cI didn\u2019t know who he was until after\u2026 this guy\u2019s clearly an attention seeking, sad fascist, touring the country trying to provoke reactions from people\u2026 But it was really heartening to see Bristolians come out and oppose these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Cable confronted Ferguson about the remarks later that day, he appeared less emboldened. Declining to answer questions, he told our reporter: \u201cYou know what I stand for\u2026. I\u2019m not gonna give you the satisfaction of clicks and baits.\u201d <\/p>\n

Our clip, which has been widely circulated on social media, has garnered thousands of views and been reported by the BBC, Bristol Live, and others. Comments on the video questioned the police response \u2014 or lack of one. In response, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that an investigation is under way, stating: \u201cWe are aware of this video circulating from the protest in Bristol over the weekend. An investigation is underway. We will provide updates when we are able to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferguson has form on this. In 2024, he served a nine-month prison sentence<\/a> for racially abusing a Black football player, Jordan Garrick. And on 24 January 2026, he took part in a \u201cwhites only\u201d demonstration in Blackpool, and in February, he marched alongside<\/a> a far-right group calling itself Patriots of Worcester.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Hope Not Hate, Ferguson has links<\/a> to Jack Renshaw, a convicted child sex offender and neo-Nazi who was arrested for plotting to kill<\/a> Rosie Cooper, then MP for West Lancashire. Renshaw was a key figure in National Action, one of the UK\u2019s most extreme far-right groups, which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A \u2018Bristol Patriot\u2019 collects things from a car during the demonstration on Saturday<\/p>\n

Ferguson wasn\u2019t the only far-right activist from outside Bristol to appear that day. We shared our photos of the demonstration with Hope Not Hate, who identified a veritable rogues gallery<\/a> of thugs, abusers, and even a former member of the loyalist paramilitary group the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) with a long string of armed robberies behind him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bristol Patriots posted an apology on their Facebook following the backlash from the march. In their post, they confirmed that they would suspend their account while they \u201creset\u201d and make \u201csignificant changes\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Thursday evening, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed<\/a> that a 26-year-old man had been arrested in connection to its investigation into an alleged hate crime during Saturday\u2019s demo. The man was arrested on suspicion of a religiously-aggravated public order offence and was being questioned in custody.<\/p>\n

In a post on Instagram, Bristol Antifascists said: \u201cThe events of Saturday speak for themselves. Bristol Patriots are Nazis. They invited Nazis, they talked with Nazis, they shook hands with Nazis\u2026 Bristol Patriots are done. Bristol is Antifascist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far-right, conspiratorial tropes<\/p>\n

The Cable first became aware of a group calling itself Bristol Patriots last summer. It emerged from a loose movement called the \u2018Great British National Protest\u2019, created by former soldier Richard Donaldson<\/a> in May 2025 \u2013 a year after vicious racist riots had rocked the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Great British National Protest quickly fizzled out, but local groups sprang up in its place. Bristol Patriots became publicly active that August, during the so-called \u2018Raise the colours\u2019 campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Clive Herbert is one of Bristol Patriots\u2019 main organisers<\/p>\n

Across British towns and cities, St George\u2019s crosses appeared tied to lampposts and daubed onto roundabouts. Organisers claimed it was merely a celebration of national pride, but many inferred anti-migrant messaging. Bristol Patriots joined in, posting videos of themselves<\/a> hoisting flags in Cadbury Heath, on Bristol\u2019s eastern edge.<\/p>\n

In January, members of the Bristol Patriots waved St George\u2019s and Union Jack flags and set off flares in a \u201cguard of honour\u201d outside the funeral of a man who had died after falling from a ladder while tying a flag in Bedminster.<\/p>\n

The Cable understands the group\u2019s two main organisers are Rob Gould, based in Yate, South Gloucestershire, and Clive Herbert, in his early twenties and based in Bristol. Other regular attendees at their protests include Julie Stokes, who regularly appears<\/a> as a steward, Kye Tyler, who is often seen wearing a green keffiyeh, and Marcus Leighton, who speaks regularly at the group\u2019s rallies.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rob Gloud speaks with demonstrators at Saturday\u2019s march<\/p>\n

Though we estimate the core membership of the group to be no more than\u00a0<\/p>\n

10 to 15 people, they\u2019ve been highly active in the city, causing repeated disruption. Their latest demonstration,\u00a0 calling for religious unity masking thinly-veiled Islamopohobic sentiment, was just their latest change in tactic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Marcus Leighton regularly speaks at Bristol Patriot demonstrations<\/p>\n

The first protest<\/a> organised in Bristol under the banner \u2018Bristol Patriots\u2019 took place in August 2025, outside a hotel in the city centre.\u00a0 The Cable was on the ground alongside openDemocracy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Attended by roughly 40 people, festive atmosphere\u00a0 \u2014 Angels, Sweet Caroline, Is This the Way to Amarillo played on a soundsystem. They believed they were closer to power than ever: MPs backing \u201cremigration,\u201d Reform UK climbing in the polls, Nigel Farage declaring that people arriving by boat should \u201cgo back to Afghanistan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following this initial demo, the group held similar protests on a roughly monthly basis, primarily outside hotels. But they were dwarfed, as they have been in all subsequent ones, by a much larger demonstration made up of antifascist and antiracist organisers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A regular presence at all of their demonstrations are a number of streamers, or \u2018auditors<\/a>\u2019. Posing as \u2018citizen journalists\u2019, they film demonstrations, harass antifascists, and often try to provoke confrontations in order to gain YouTube clicks. Some of the most well known of these streamers including Tyrant Finder, Go West and Captain Obes.<\/p>\n

\"\"So-called \u2018auditor\u2019 Captain Obes is spotted at Saturday\u2019s march<\/p>\n

At the march on Saturday was \u2018auditor\u2019 Mark Sinclair (AKA Freedom Dad) who aligned with the East Belfast Night Watch, an anti-migrant vigilante group. According to Hope Not Hate, Sinclair is a former member of the Ulster Volunteer Force, a banned loyalist paramilitary organisation. He served 17 years in prison for a series of bank robberies and, more recently, racially abused a Chinese person on route to the Unite the Kingdom rally last September.<\/p>\n

Bristol Patriots\u2019 own social media replicates many far-right and conspiratorial tropes, including the \u2018Great Replacement Theory\u2019 \u2013 essentially the idea that \u2018global elites\u2019 are trying to replace the white population of Western countries with non-white immigrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Mark Sinclair (left), who has served 17 years in prison for a series of bank robberies, pictured with Marcus Leighton<\/p>\n

They also favour crudely-designed AI posters and bizarre AI- generated music. At one protest in January 2026, they blasted a version of \u2018Old McDonald had a farm\u2019, complete with pro-Trump messaging.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since its inception, the group has claimed that it is not a far-right organisation. Its website claims the group stands for \u201csecure borders, political accountability and British pride\u201d. It often invokes \u201cwomen\u2019s safety\u201d as the justification for its protests. Yet its activities, and the people who keep showing up, tell a different story.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Extremists and criminals<\/p>\n

Shortly before the 7 March demonstration begins, the Cable tries to speak to the few Bristol Patriots milling about. We approach one of the few women present, and ask her why she\u2019s there. She tells us she\u2019s motivated by \u201cstanding up for unity\u201d. When asked why Muslims might feel unwelcome, she replies \u201cThey didn\u2019t want to come. They had the opportunity to come\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The two \u2018security guards\u2019 are standing nearby. Though they don\u2019t identify themselves, we believe them to be James Hodges, aka \u201cthe Viking\u201d, and Justin Duplessis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hodges tells us he\u2019s keeping an eye out for: \u201canyone trying to go out and come past the police line, anyone trying to antagonise the police or members of the public, any hate speech.\u201d Which is ironic, given we\u2019ve also found a video<\/a> of him and Duplessis proudly doing Nazi salutes to Ferguson from the balcony of a pub in Worcester in early March. Apparently, he\u2019s exempt from his own rules. Or rather, he\u2019s talking shit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Justin Duplessis alongside Ryan Ferguson ahead of the demonstration<\/p>\n

Asked why the need for a stabproof vest,\u00a0 Hodges tells us: \u201cI\u2019m a private military contractor\u2026 I\u2019ve been doing this for 15 years now in hostile environments. I feel naked without this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite all the talk of \u2018unity\u2019, it\u2019s clear they have hostile views about Muslims. \u201cI\u2019m a Catholic uniting with fellow Christians against the march of Islamic extremism in our country,\u201d says Duplessis. He says he\u2019s concerned about \u201cundocumented males coming over from countries where Islamic brotherhood is rife\u201d and talks about Muslims \u201cvoting for Hamas and Hezbollah\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before long, as more Bristol Patriots arrived, they began to stop talking with us and we turned to trying to identify those who were showing up.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jay Barlow (circled) alongside Ryan Ferguson (centre) and Hugh Anthony (right)<\/p>\n

Other far-right activists who joined from outside Bristol included three members of neo-Nazi splinter group White Vanguard, one of whom Hope Not Hate later identified as Jay Barlow<\/a>. Barlow has a 2018 conviction for grievous bodily harm: he received a four-year jail term for a knife attack at a supermarket.<\/p>\n

\u2018Ethnonationalist streamer\u2019 Hugh Anthony and Christian nationalist streamer Young Bob, real name Gregory Moffitt, were also present. And so was William Walker, a former councillor for the Democratic Unionist Party. Walker was sentenced to 100 hours of community service in 2023 after admitting two counts of attempted sexual communication with a child.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been spotted at several Bristol Patriots events.<\/p>\n

\"\"Convicted child sex offender William Walker (centre) was pictured at the demonstration<\/p>\n

None of this was unusual. Despite Bristol Patriots claiming to be merely concerned citizens, the Cable can confirm that far-right, extremist activists and criminals from across the South West and beyond have consistently shown up at their demonstrations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Motley Crew of fascists<\/p>\n

In October 2025, during a Bristol Patriots march from the Cenotaph to College Green, a man calling himself \u201cCarl England\u201d, but whose real name is Mike Gott, was spotted. Gott is a former member of the National Front, which was the UK\u2019s largest far-right organisation during the 1970s and 80s. He was seen wearing a flag of the British Movement, an overtly fascist organisation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Based in Bournemouth, Gott is well known on the south coast for his involvement with various far-right organisations.<\/p>\n

Other far-right figures have made regular appearances. In November 2025, Nick Tenconi, head of UKIP, appeared at the Bristol Patriots demonstration outside another city centre hotel, where the group claimed to be protesting against \u201cillegal immigration\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On that day, as they hurled abuse at people in the hotel, who they claimed were all \u201cmilitary-aged men\u201d, small children could be seen in the windows, looking down at the hostile crowd below in bewilderment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was the second time Tenconi has appeared in Bristol over the past year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In May 2025, UKIP organised a march in Bristol calling for \u201cmass deportations\u201d. UKIP, which successfully campaigned for Brexit and was the political vehicle which the UK\u2019s most prominent far-right populist, Nigel Farage, used to advance his career, has subsequently refashioned itself as a Christian nationalist organisation, to the right of Reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its new logo design<\/a> has been compared with an iron cross, a symbol which has been used, among others, by the Nazis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tenconi has been seen giving Nazi salutes and is outspoken in his Islamophobia and racist views. He has been seen harassing refugees living in camps in Calais. At the November demo, he gave an incoherent speech about Bristol being \u201ca communist cesspit\u201d and talked about cultural replacement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Nigel Murfin (Britain First) has been at several Bristol Patriot protests <\/p>\n

Also present at the November demonstration was Nigel Murfin, head of Britain First in the South West region. Based in Bideford, Devon, Murfin describes himself as the \u201cbodyguard\u201d to Paul Golding, head of Britain First at the national level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Britain First is another of the UK\u2019s most hardline far-right organisations and has a long history of racist organisers in its ranks. Murfin has been seen several times at Bristol Patriot demonstrations.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Murfin was fined twice, in 2019 and 2020, for threatening a woman.<\/p>\n

A change in tactics<\/p>\n

In December 2025, Bristol Patriots appeared to shift their tactics. They moved away from organising protests outside hotels and began targeting left-wing and pro-Palestine events instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first of such incidents was when members of the group appeared outside music venue Strange Brew, in the city centre, where Bristol Antifascists were holding a fundraiser.\u00a0 The reason Bristol Patriots targeted this event is arguably due to the effectiveness of antifascist organising in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bristol has seen significant and sustained mobilisations from groups including Bristol Antifascists, Bristol Antiracist Action, formed in the wake of the riots in July 2024, and Stand Up to Racism, which is affiliated with the trade union movement.<\/p>\n

In January, members of Bristol Patriots were seen harassing protesters during a pro-Palestine demonstration in Patchway. Present at this march was Byron \u2018Rone\u2019 Taylor, who has a conviction for racially aggravated assault against three schoolgirls.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Reporting on the stories that matter to you. Only with your support.<\/p>\n


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Members of Bristol Patriots have also regularly been seen waving Israelis flags, expressing pro-Zionist sentiments, and shouting anti-Palestine slogans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In January, they held a demonstration supposedly against \u2018digital ID\u2019, an attempt by the group to launder its far-right objectives and gain a larger audience. During this demonstration, a significant police operation attempted to kettle antifascists, though they were unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Then, on 15 February, a significant escalation occurred. An antifascist fundraiser, featuring local punk bands, was taking place at the Red Lion pub on Whitehall Road in east Bristol. Around 15-20 members of Bristol Patriots showed up outside, some wearing stab-proof vests and military-style padded gloves. All were dressed in black and wore masks.<\/p>\n

As horrified residents on the street looked on, they began harassing people attempting to go into the pub. Antifascists and east Bristol residents quickly responded, turning up en masse to defend the pub.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More recently, just a week after the attack on the Red Lion in Easton, activists from the Zionist group Our Fight blocked Bristol Apartheid Free Zone campaigners from holding a doorknocking session in Bishopston. The campaigners were harassed, followed, and filmed, while placards accused them of conducting a \u2018Jew hunt\u2019 as obnoxious AI music blared from a PA system.<\/p>\n

\u2018We know how to do it, we\u2019ll do it again\u2019
<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few days after the protest, the group released a statement on its Facebook page stating that they \u201cwant to offer an apology regarding some of the other groups who were invited to the march by certain individuals within our community. While Bristol Patriots has always believed in welcoming anyone who shares our core views, some of those attended on Saturday do not align with our mission\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Given Bristol Patriots\u2019 long and sordid history of collaborating with well-known fascists and neo-Nazis, and their consistent use of hardline anti-migrant rhetoric, calls for \u201cmass deportations\u201d and aggressive behaviour against leftwing activist and those sympathetic to Palestine, it\u2019s hard to take this statement seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The statement continued: \u201cThis is not the end of patriotism in Bristol. This is a time for us to reset and bring back the true British patriotism that we started with\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Cable hopes that Bristol Patriots\u2019 version of \u201cpatriotism\u201d, which has entailed bringing intimidation, harassment and division to our city, is finally over.\u00a0 However, given the current political climate and the acres of column inches and TV space given over to far-right groups such as Reform and others, we suspect this is not the last far-right activity we will see here.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But as Saturday and previous demonstrations showed, Bristol stood ready to oppose it. As Bristol Antifascists\u2019 statement reads: \u201cHaving mobilised numerous times before, people showed up in large numbers again ready to oppose the fascists\u2026 Bristol has done this before, we know how to do it, and we\u2019ll do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n