Hardliners on either side of the confrontation

HARD-LEFT THUGS WHO RELY ON THEIR FISTS

Antifa is the name given to a violent hard-Left movement that claims to fight fascism, racism and sexism.

It claims to have been instrumental in protests against Donald Trump’s immigration policies and comments on women.

Members are anti-government and anti-capitalist, and is happy to destroy property. Even though it originated in Germany in 1932 to oppose the Nazis, there are calls for it to be labelled a terrorist organisation for its recourse to violence.

THE CAPITALIST CHEERLEADER

Yaron Brook is chairman of the board of the Ayn Rand Institute, which promotes the philosophies developed by Right-wing US philosopher Ayn Rand, who died in 1982. He has written a book called Equal Is Unfair, and co-authored a bestseller, Free Market Revolution, which claimed economic woes could be solved through capitalism and self-interest.

Born and raised in Israel, he became an American citizen in 2003 and is a hedge fund manager.

UNCOMPROMISING ANTI-FEMINIST BLOGGER

Carl Benjamin, a blogger and video games developer from Swindon, describes himself as a ‘classical liberal’. The married father-of-two appears in YouTube videos criticising modern feminism. Responding to Labour MP Jess Phillips, who told in May 2016 how she often received rape threats, Benjamin said on YouTube: ‘I wouldn’t even rape you.’