LONDON — The condemnation over anti-immigrant riots in Northern Ireland was being matched by another growing outrage in Britain on Thursday: that the world’s richest person was inciting the violence.
A second night of unrest on the streets of Belfast saw masked men once again torch houses and vehicles in a hunt for anyone they believed to be an immigrant. A government minister labeled the violence “racist thuggery.”
The rioters say they are motivated by the stabbing of a local man, Stephen Ogilvie, who remains in a coma after losing one eye in the knife attack that also caused deep wounds to his face and neck. Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder, but did not enter a plea when he appeared in court Wednesday.
Graphic video of the attack spread quickly and widely on social media. Police have not revealed a motive for the stabbing attack but said it’s not believed to be terrorism.
Ogilvie’s family have implored people not to use the attack for political gain or violence, while stressing the “valuable contribution” that migrants make to society.
Many politicians, public figures and general citizens have condemned the riots, but perhaps just as vehement has been the anger at Elon Musk for posts repeatedly supporting them.
Musk, the SpaceX and Tesla CEO, has long used his social media platform X to promote far-right figures globally and their anti-immigration views.
On Wednesday, he hit back at those accusing him of spreading hatred and fueling the Northern Ireland rioters.
“Murderous migrants beheading innocent people in their home town is what’s making people angry, not ‘social media’!” he wrote.
Musk also reposted other messages claiming that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “hates white people,” and another sharing an image of the stabbing suspect, who is Black, alongside the caption declaring “millions must go.”
It is not the first time that Musk has used his 240 million-follower platform to wade into British and European politics and denounce the continent’s immigration policies.
Musk has recently voiced support for Restore Britain, a breakaway political party from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which felt its immigration policies were not extreme enough. Musk also regularly shares messages from Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist and convicted fraudster who has served five jail terms.
“It’s appalling,” Labour Party Chair Anna Turley said of Musk’s interventions, speaking to Britain’s LBC radio station Thursday. “Anyone that is seeking to drive and exploit a situation like this to drive their own political agenda is grievously wrong and doing damage. We’ve seen children, families having to flee their homes on the streets of Belfast last night.”
Michelle O’Neill, the first minister of Northern Ireland, had earlier condemned “the Elon Musks of this world,” who she said “are sitting right comfy in their homes, orchestrating hate and tension.”
Starmer did not mention Musk by name, but called out “those who encouraged it, online or elsewhere.” He also criticized people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”
His official spokesperson added Thursday that the government “will not tolerate platforms being used to spread violence.”
As for the riots themselves, the British government’s Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn called them “racist thuggery” in an interview with Britain's Sky News.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland warned Thursday that “violent behaviour, by a thuggish minority, will not be tolerated,” saying 12 officers had been injured following rioting in Belfast on Wednesday. 16 people have been arrested in connection with the disorder.
Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson told a press conference that “everyone with influence needs to do all in their power to get the thugs off our streets,” adding: “There can be peaceful protest. It is part of a democratic society. This bears no resemblance to that.”
“The current protesters are mostly from working-class areas, but they’re stoked by the richest people on this planet,” said Johanne Devlin Trew, a specialist in migration and diaspora who teaches at Belfast’s Ulster University. She said that while many people have sincerely held grievances about immigration, she also urged people to “look at the facts.”
Just 3.4% of people in Northern Ireland are from a minority ethnic group, compared with 18.3% in England and Wales, and 42% in the United States, according to figures from both governments.
“The facts are that in terms of migration to Northern Ireland it is punching well below what the UK average,” Trew said.
NBC News has reached out to Tesla and SpaceX for comment.
