Owen Jones Attack NOT AN ACCIDENT

When journalist and campaigner Owen Jones was violently assaulted outside the Lexington pub in Islington last August, some out there on the far right immediately claimed that the assault had not happened, or if it had, Jones somehow deserved it. Or declared it to be terribly funny. But it had happened, and all those claiming otherwise were soon silenced when a number of men were arrested, and later charged.

Owen Jones

Meanwhile, there was the all too predictable response from those in and around the media. While some on the right - Darren Grimes, Iain Dale, Toby Young, Stephen Pollard - condemned the attack, those at the increasingly alt-right Spectator magazine shamefully equivocated. One amusing side show was amateur comedy kidnapper Daniel Thomas trying to prank Jones and ending up interfering with the Police investigation.

For those who claimed the assault either didn’t happen, their moment of reality came yesterday, as the Guardian reported: “A Chelsea football fan was jailed for two years and eight months for committing an aggravated assault on the Guardian columnist Owen Jones with a ‘karate kick to his lower back’, motivated by hostility to the writer’s leftwing and LGBT politics”. James Healy had significant previous convictions.

Moreover, the assault was not some mere accident of fate: Healy and his pals had already identified Jones before jumping him as he left the pub. Also, that it was a hardline Chelsea supporter was not a coincidence. In January last year, one far-right Tweeter told “People who were about in early edl days might remember owen jones he was a young kid riding up and down whitehall on his bmx tweeting to antifa trying to get people attacked. This is who you are dealing with. Put the word out #Millwall #Chelsea #westham #arsenal”.

This indicates significant stupidity (when Jones was a “young kid” he lived not in London, but in Stockport, there was no Twitter then, and the term “Antifa” was not yet in use), but it had an immediate effect. The next day, Jones was jostled and threatened in London’s Trafalgar Square. The Police were forced to intervene.

Mike Stuchbery, who has also been on the receiving end of far-right intimidation, responded “This is unacceptable. The same collection of 'Yellow Vests', made up of BNP and other Far Right groups, forcing [Owen Jones] to have police protection as he crosses Trafalgar Square. Despicable. Solidarity to Owen”. One of those responding to the news reminded him “Pie n Mash threatened to do this yesterday”.

Indeed, Jones saw the Pie n Mash Tweet and noted “This never happened, but if anything happens to me, we'll know who the culprits will be”. The Pie n Mash Tweet tagged #Chelsea, and one of their pals from Chelsea was indeed the culprit.

Meaning, if anyone were still in any doubt about such things, hate speech and threatening behaviour on social media platforms is not merely about FREEZE PEACH. It has to be called out and action needs to be taken against it. Because it has consequences. For which James Healy is now serving two years and eight months.

Nor does that let media equivocation off the hook. Hello Spectator people.

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