Police warn against protest misinformation amid Glasgow disorder | UK news
Scottish police have warned people to check the veracity of online claims before heading to protests, in one case due to confusion, after crowds gathered outside two houses in Glasgow this week.
Police Scotland said several nights of mayhem in Scotland’s largest city were “clearly planned by individuals who were not from Glaswegian”.
He added that a new protest was planned for the weekend, based entirely on misinformation.
Large gatherings in Glasgow’s Cranhill neighborhoods on Tuesday and Castlemilk on Thursday followed online speculation that men accused of serious crimes were living in those areas.
The initial disturbance stemmed from lawmakers learning that a man charged with assault in connection with allegedly raping another man in Glasgow city center in May had recently moved to Cranhill.
Police said the latter was a case of mistaken identity targeting a person who was not charged with any crime.
A similar incident took place in Royston, Glasgow, last week in response to allegations of sexual assault. In both cases, no one was found guilty of the attacks that sparked protests.
Five police officers were injured during three protests, and two people were arrested for attacking police.
Police Scotland deputy chief constable Alan Waddell told BBC Radio Scotland that the protests were “part of the fabric of Scotland” but misinformation was being spread online by bad actors, mostly from outside Glasgow.
He said they were “capitalizing on fears in society about perceived sex offenders from ethnic backgrounds”.
Waddell said much of the information is factually incorrect.
He highlighted a protest planned to take place outside a care home in Glasgow this weekend over false rumors that it would be closed and turned into accommodation for asylum seekers.
“I spoke out about a protest that turned into disorder a few weeks ago and it was clear to see that people in Glasgow were being targeted because of the color of their skin,” Waddell said. “Some of the things we’re seeing now feel like they’ve been amplified and built upon.
“We really need to call this out and challenge it.”
He added: “People in Scotland know how to protest and it is legal and peaceful. We have not changed our position. If you want to do that, we will find a way to work with you and make it easier.”
“But if you’re convinced to go to a site created online [with] A clear focus on disrupting and causing disorder or resorting to violence, do not go. Or check who published this information, what other sources of information are available, because ultimately you will be held responsible for your actions.
“If you break the law, you should expect to be caught and punished.”
David Kennedy of the Scottish Police Federation described the scenes as “disgraceful”.
“For some people this is about violence, not protest,” he told BBC Radio Scotland.
He said people in Scotland were “manipulated” by outside influences and that hate crime and disorder were not legitimate forms of protest.
Kennedy said the confusion was “frightening” for officers who were physically attacked and had missiles fired at. “Facing this level of violence is not something we see in Scotland.”
