Alleged killer of British MP was a longtime supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance
Thomas Mair, alleged killer of British MP Jo Cox, was a longtime supporter of the neo-Nazi National Alliance.
Jo Cox, a member of the Labour Party in the British Parliament, after an attack by a lone man who shot and stabbed her in West Yorkshire following a regular public meeting she held with constituents.
Her alleged killer is , 52. According to eyewitness accounts, which are still under investigation, Mair was armed with a knife and a gun, either antique or homemade, and may have shouted 鈥淏ritain First鈥� when he attacked Cox, a possible reference to the far right Britain First party, whose leader, Paul Golding, is a former member of the white nationalist British National Party. The Daily Telegraph reported that Mair鈥檚 brother claimed Mair has a 鈥渉istory of mental illness,鈥� and neighbors called him a 鈥渓oner,鈥� but he also has a long history with white nationalism.
According to records obtained by the Southern Poverty Law Center聽Mair was for decades a dedicated supporter of the National Alliance (NA), the once premier neo-Nazi organization in the United States. Mair purchased a manual from the NA in 1999 that included instructions聽on how to build a pistol.
Mair, who resides in what is described as a semi-detached house on the Fieldhead Estate in Birstall, sent just over $620 to the NA, according to invoices for goods purchased from National Vanguard Books, the NA鈥檚 publishing imprint.聽Mair purchased subscriptions for periodicals published by the imprint,聽and he bought works that instruct readers on the 鈥淐hemistry of Powder & Explosives,鈥� 鈥淚ncendiaries,鈥� and a work called 鈥淚mprovised Munitions Handbook." Under 鈥淪ection III, No. 9鈥� (page 125) of that handbook, there are detailed instructions for constructing a 鈥淧ipe Pistol For .38 Caliber Ammunition鈥� from components that can be purchased from nearly any hardware store.
The NA may be best-known for the work of its now-deceased founder, William Pierce, a former physics professor who also wrote racist novels. One, The Turner Diaries, tells the post-apocalyptic fictional story of a white man fighting in a race war that may have provided inspiration for Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
The Daily Telegraph that Mair was a subscriber to S. A. Patriot, a South African magazine published by White Rhino Club, a pro-apartheid group. The club describes that magazine鈥檚 editorial stance as opposed to 鈥渕ulti-cultural societies鈥� and 鈥渆xpansionist Islam.鈥� According to the Daily Telegraph, a January 2006 blog post attributed to the group described Mair as 鈥渙ne of the earliest subscribers and supporters of S. A. Patriot.鈥�
Cox, 41, known as a , was an advocate for Syrian refugees. She had worked as an aid worker in developing countries and went on to become head of policy at Oxfam. She had also worked as an advisor to Sarah Brown, wife of the former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in women鈥檚 and children鈥檚 health campaigns. Cox was elected to Parliament in 2015 and quickly gained a reputation for taking on her own party鈥檚 leadership. She supported staying in the European Union in the face of the upcoming so-called 鈥淏rexit鈥� referendum, which will determine whether the UK leaves the European Union.聽
