The seven black-shirted young British Fascists who were arrested yesterday after starting a riot in Piccadilly Circus by their anti-Semitic remarks, were released as first offenders when arraigned in court today. The policeman who took them into custody declared they had in reality arrested them for their own protection, as they might have been seriously hurt by the threatening crowd that resented their insulting the Jews. The crowd, the policeman asserted, was too large to arrest.
Street-fighting broke out when the young men, standing on the street and selling copies of their publication, “The Blackshirt”, made nasty remarks about Jews who were passing by. Several thousand people were walking in Piccadilly Circus many of them having just emerged from the large motion picture theatres centered there. In front of a large restaurant stood the black-shirted youths, members of the British Fascist Junior Association, hawking copies of the Fascist magazine, which is sponsored by Sir Oswald Mosley.
The young men made several anti-Semitic remarks. Several Jews, passing by, heard them. A fight began. In the street-battle that ensued, several of hte blackshirts were injured, and seven of them were arrested by the police who had to call for reinforcements in order to check the rioting.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
