A man whose evidence helped secure the conviction of an antisemitic racist has said the entire episode was “a really valuable illustration of how essential the CST is to the Jewish community”.
Just days after Robert Taylor was sentenced to four years in prison for nine offences relating to racial hatred, two terror offences, two offences related to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and one case of support for a proscribed organisation, the CST released a detailed report, Pathway to Terror, revealing Taylor’s activism.
For more than three years, CST had been investigating Taylor and his pattern of far-right and antisemitic actions in and around his home town of Farnworth, near Bolton in Lancashire. Though not significant himself in Britain’s extreme right, Taylor had become involved with the US-based “Goyim Defense League”, or GDL, which, the CST say, “has developed a reputation for shocking, overtly antisemitic public activism”.
Through online activity, often through the Telegram social media platform, Taylor had become part of the GDL and its material had begun to seep into the UK through sharing by him and others.
The man whose identification of Taylor eventually led to his arrest and ultimate conviction has asked to be known as Mark from Hertfordshire. He told Jewish News that he was in the Manchester area in July 2022 for a family stonesetting ceremony.
In the morning Mark and his wife decided to take their three children out somewhere and ended up at the East Lancs Car Boot Sale. While the family were buying something at a stall, Mark, who wears a kippah, heard a voice behind him saying the word “Gas,” and repeating it.
A man, later identified as Taylor, circled around Mark and told him: “Gas — it’s what I think of when I see you people”. Then he used the term “Synagogue of Satan”, and walked off after declaring “Heil Hitler”.
Stallholders nearby witnessed what had happened and were, says Mark, visibly disgusted. Neither Mark’s wife nor his children had seen the exchange.
Mark said: “It was really sickening, but I was in two minds as to whether to report it; I didn’t think the police could track him down. Then I decided that I should at least tell the CST”.
The self-styled Brutus of Goy
Mark’s report led to “a lightbulb moment” within the CST research team, who had been trying to identify someone who styled himself “Brutus of Goy” online. In May 2021 this person had filmed and posted a video made at an East Lancs Car Boot Sale, in which he similarly taunted a different visibly Jewish man — using the identical language. The researchers immediately understood that it was the same man vocalising racial hatred against Jews.
CST — which had by this time shared Mark’s report with the police — asked him to take part in a Zoom call and showed him a series of pictures. He immediately identified Taylor as the man at the car boot sale, and made the same confirmation later to Greater Manchester Police.
It was clear to CST that “Brutus of Goy” was responsible for various antisemitic postings on-line and ultimately Taylor was arrested, charged, and convicted.
The CST is now calling for the GDL’s American leaders, particularly Jon Minadeo, to be banned from entering Britain, and warned of the danger of the growth in influence of the far-right group. The charity said: “Robert Taylor’s arrest and conviction for terrorism and hate offences was the culmination of a process of radicalisation and extremism that intertwined the perpetration of offline hate crimes with online extremism.
Robert Taylor
“Antisemitic hate crimes are an unfortunate reality for Jewish communities, and it is easy to treat hateful posters in local communities as somehow less important than racist violence or other forms of hate crime. The case of Robert Taylor, however, should be an important reminder that these incidents can be a precursor of much more dangerous activities”.
As for Mark, he said: “The CST’s background work makes a huge impact and it is so important to report these things. If you are ever in two minds, don’t hesitate. It is definitely worth doing it”.
