The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has warned that they will crack down on not only British nationals but also US nationals who comment on the riots in the UK.
“We will use the full force of the law. Whether you’re committing a crime on the streets of this country or far away online, we will hunt you down,” Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News.
Riots have erupted across the UK over an online hoax that suggested an asylum seeker was behind a mass stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event that left three girls dead and others injured. The murder, allegedly committed by an 18-year-old British citizen born to Rwandan parents, sparked a series of violent protests that have sparked wider concerns about the scale of immigration in the UK.
Footage of violent clashes between anti-immigration protesters and counter-protesters, some of whom were waving Palestinian flags, has been circulating on social media, with the government warning that sharing such content could face serious consequences.
One of the main aspects of this apparent crackdown on social media that makes it particularly shocking to critics is that the British government is threatening to extradite and imprison US citizens to the UK for violating rules on online political speech.
The British government has announced that it will crack down on not only British citizens who comment on riots in the UK, but also American citizens. (Sky News)
Riots in Britain plunge country into unrest for years, PM vows to use ‘full force of law’
A Sky News reporter asked Rowley to explain the warning further, alleging that high-profile figures were “inciting hatred” and that “figures like Elon Musk” were involved. Rowley went on to ask, “What are the police plans for dealing with individuals who are inciting this type of behaviour from behind a keyboard, possibly in a foreign country?”
Rowley responded to the reporter: “Being a keyboard warrior doesn’t make you safe from the law.”
“You can be found guilty of sedition, of inciting racial hatred and there are a number of terrorism offences relating to publishing material,” he said. “If people are on the streets inciting hatred and violence, all of these offences apply and we will pursue those individuals just as we would physically confront thugs and hoodlums in the streets who are causing problems in our communities.”

Protesters chanting “enough is enough” clash with police in Whitehall, London, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, following the stabbing deaths of three children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class in Southport earlier this month (Jordan Pettit/PA via The Associated Press)
The UK government is scrutinising social media to arrest people who share “harmful” footage of the riots, regardless of their intentions.
Elon Musk has made headlines by suggesting the UK is heading for a “civil war” and criticising Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s response to the past week’s riots.
He also responded to a video of a person being arrested for allegedly making offensive comments online, asking: “Is this England or the USSR?”
A spokesman for Starmer said Musk’s comments were “not justified”, adding that social media companies “can and should do more” to tackle misinformation, the BBC reported. He added that such companies also had a “responsibility” to stop the spread of criminal activity and limit disinformation.
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Fox Business’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.