A far-right agitator who was filmed by 5Pillars being arrested at an anti-mosque protest near the Lake District in July has been exposed as a “Heil Hitler” T-shirt wearing Islamophobe with a history of racist activism.
Ryan Ferguson, 25, has been identified as the activist who was arrested at the protest against a new mosque being built in Dalton-In-Furness.
5Pillars witnessed Ferguson attempt to confront anti-racism demonstrators at a counter-demo across the road when police stopped him. In the footage Ferguson can be heard protesting against being called “Nazi scum” by the counter protestors prior to his arrest.
However, it turns out Ferguson has a long, vile history of far-right activism including being pictured at a Britain First rally in May wearing a T-shirt with widely recognised neo-Nazi branding.
Ferguson, from Barrberry Crescent, Liverpool, attended the far-right rally in Birmingham on Saturday, May 17, and was seen at the head of the march in the company of co-leaders Paul Golding and Ashlea Simon.
But in a picture provided to the ECHO by campaign group HOPE not hate, Ferguson is seen wearing a T-shirt with a Polish slogan and the numbers “88.”
The numbers 88 are traditionally seen as an abbreviation for the Nazi salute “Heil Hitler.”
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The letter H is eighth in the alphabet, so 88 becomes HH. The shorthand reference is accompanied on Ferguson’s T-shirt by a phrase which translates to: “your hatred strengthens our faith.”
Footage of his arrest at the mosque protest went viral on X with far-right accounts suggesting he had been arrested for simply attending and refusing to leave the protest.
Accounts including Tommy Robinson’s shared the footage without providing context behind his arrest.
A history of arrests
Ferguson, a supporter of both Tommy Robinson and Britain First, is not a new face in the far-right scene.
In January 2024, 5Pillars received the audio of a bizarre exchange between Ferguson and a woman working at Didsbury Mosque. Ferguson had attempted to confront an imam at the mosque based on a old propaganda video by Tommy Robinson which was re-shared on social media.
He was humiliated during the exchange by the female English convert after it became clear he had no idea who he was looking for or what year the original video had even been recorded.
Then on February 8, 2024, Ferguson pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment, failing to comply with a football banning order and resisting a police constable after he was caught hurling racist abuse at a Forest Green Rovers player.
Ferguson was jailed for a total of nine months after the evidence presented by the prosecution clearly proved this was a hate crime. He was also made subject of a six-year football banning order.
Reacting to the outcome, Douglas Mackay, CPS Sports National Lead Prosecutor, said: “Ferguson’s actions were vile and something that none of us should ever experience at a football match – whether that be fans, staff, police or indeed the players themselves.”
Amid the outbreak of renewed anti-migrant hotel protests across England, Ferguson has again mobilised and has been spotted at a number of protests outside hotels.
According to footage shared online Ferguson was seen being arrested again after arriving at a migrant hotel protest in Hoylake, England, on August 1.
Despite his constant arrests and warnings, Ferguson continues to repeat his behaviour. However, he remains a small brick in the wider far-right pyramid, boasting a small social media following and far less notoriety compared to his idol Tommy Robinson.
Outside agitators sow division
This revelation strengthens claims that the Lake District’s anti-mosque protests are merely the result of interference from outsider far-right extremist groups and not a grassroots initiative from locals in Cumbria.
5Pillars has witnessed the continued presence of Britain First activists at the construction site filming propaganda videos or waving flags on a near monthly basis.
On March 29, Britain First’s leaders Paul Golding and Ashlea Simon visited the construction site and filmed a propaganda video peddling Islamophobic conspiracy theories of an Islamic takeover of Cumbria.
“This is a very white British area. There is no need for a mega mosque to be built here,” Ashlea Simon said to camera.
Other fringe groups such as UKIP have been spotted inciting outside the construction site.
On June 17, Nick Marcel Tenconi, UKIP’s leader, filmed himself trying to confront Muslim organisers and builders working at the site.
In a video posted on X, Tenconi could be seen heckling workers, calling them “traitors” who have “sold their soul.”
In a separate video, Tenconi films himself spouting Islamophobic propaganda and conspiracy theories against the mosque.
“There is absolutely no need to put a mosque here. And the soul reason is to artificially flood the area with Muslims as an extension of ‘Operation Scatter,’ including ISIS warriors, Johnny Jihads, Islamists and the dregs of the Third World.
“They will descend on this poor Cumbrian community. Our Lake District is a national institution. We are being conquered.”
On July 19, at the latest anti-mosque demonstration, 5Pillars attempted to speak to the attendees of the protest to establish whether any of them were actually from the local area but were prevented from doing so by protest organisers.
