Exploiting covid 19 outbreak by carrying out violent acts against law enforcement
- 2020 - 2020
Identification of the Source
Report from the PARTICIPATION Project
Keywords
Leftist anarchists, COVID19, Coronavirus-pandemicDescription
On April 8, 2020, the leftist anarchist website "Indymedia Bruxsel" issued a call to exploit the COVID19 outbreak by carrying out violent acts against law enforcement and prison personnel and destroying telecom infrastructure in order to do as much harm to society as possible. Recent research published by the “Belgium-Luxembourg digital media and disinformation Observatory”, which has mapped some parallels between narratives surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, by investigating narrative evolutions of Dutch-speaking, far-right and conspiratorial Telegram communities from the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The research has indicated a switch into anti-Western, anti-EU, and anti-NATO narratives, typically in line with Kremlin-backed propaganda, as well as the persistence of entrenched discourse on the coronavirus pandemic.
Type of Crime
Radicalisation, Terrorism
Modus Operandi
The perpetrators were leftist anarchists who used the website “Indymedia Bruxsel” to communicate and coordinate their actions. They were also motivated by a radical ideology that opposes the state, the police, the prison system and the capitalist society. They also exploited the COVID19 outbreak to create chaos and instability.
People involved
Leftist Anarchists, Right wing ideologists
Criminal History
The perpepetrators were part of a network of leftist anarchist groups that have a long history of violent actions in Europe, especially against the police, the prison system and the capitalist society. They are influenced by the ideology of the Jura Federation, which emerged from the split of First International in 1872 and advocated for a self-managed economic system outside all authority and centralization.
The perpetrators have used the website "Indymedia Bruxsel" as a platform to communicate and coordinate their actions, as well as to spread their propaganda and ideology. The website is part of a larger network of independent media outlets that support radical social movements and alternative forms of journalism
Influential and/or vulnerable Groups
Leftist anarchist groups, that use websites like “Indymedia Bruxsel” to communicate and coordinate their actions
The law - enforcement and prison personnel who are targeted by the violent acts of leftist anarchists