A FINNISH neo-Nazi who provided online instructions on how to commit arson during the UK riots has been confronted by the BBC.
The 20-year-old, identified as Charles-Emmanuel Mikko Rasanen, was an administrator of a Telegram group called Southport Wake Up, which played a key role in organising protests that turned violent in England and Northern Ireland over the summer.
Operating under the alias "Mr AG," Rasanen shared a manual for committing arson, which was pinned to the top of the group chat with over 14,000 members.
The Southport Wake Up group was created on 29 July, shortly after the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. It quickly became a hub for organising protests, one of which escalated into a riot on St Luke’s Road in Southport. Before the group was removed from Telegram, a list of refugee centres was posted as potential targets alongside the arson manual. The document, believed to have originated from a Russian fascist group, detailed methods to evade police and encouraged attacks on Muslims and Jews.
When the BBC confronted Rasanen at his apartment in Helsinki, he declined to answer any questions but did not deny his involvement in the Southport Wake Up group. He later accused the BBC of harassment and contacted the police.
Rasanen is a supporter of the Nordic Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi organisation banned in the US, and has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler on Telegram. Finnish journalist Veli-Pekka Hämäläinen noted that Rasanen had been active in extremist circles for years and that his role in the riots transformed him from an isolated figure into one with a large following. Finnish police records indicate Rasanen was previously investigated for making an illegal threat but has never faced criminal charges.
The British anti-fascist group Red Flare linked Rasanen to Patriotic Alternative (PA), a far-right nationalist group in the UK, noting his participation in a private gaming chat shared by key PA figures, including Sam Melia, who was jailed earlier this year for inciting racial hatred.
Although Finland does not have an extradition agreement with the UK, the UK government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, said that if Rasanen were in the UK, he would be prosecuted under the 2006 Terrorism Act. Telegram has since removed UK channels calling for violence, including Southport Wake Up, and has expressed willingness to cooperate with both UK and Finnish authorities.
The UK government stated that it is moving swiftly to implement the Online Safety Act to prevent the spread of illegal content and misinformation.
