We can reveal that the Finnish neo-Nazi who encouraged the United Kingdom’s worst race riots for a century is Charles-Emmanuel Mikko Rasanen from Espoo, in southern Finland. Using the pseudonym ‘Mr.AG,’ Rasanen, who is just 20 years old, was behind widely-publicised arson threats to English immigration-related services.
Unusually for a racist neo-Nazi, Rasanen is mixed race. In a leaked voice note, Rasanen can be heard saying, “my father is of Finnish/a little bit of Swedish and probably German descent, and my mother is of African Negro descent.” Rasanen’s pseudonym, ‘Mr.AG’ is an abbreviation of ‘AryanizedGoebbelboo’ an earlier username used by Rasanen. The Nazis promoted the idea of a superior ‘Aryan race’ and Goebbels was a leading Nazi.
Rasanen is a supporter of the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), which is banned in Finland and the United States as a terrorist group. Posting in the NRM’s Swedish chat this summer, Rasanen revealed he will be joining the Finnish army next year.
In November 2020, while still a minor, Rasanen was arrested by police after being accused of “preparing a serious crime against life or health”. Rasanen’s home was raided by Finnish police and he had a mobile phone, computer and external hard drive seized. The NRM’s Swedish-language website, Nordfront, interviewed Rasanen about his arrest, describing him as an NRM sympathiser. Rasanen was never charged. The following April, Nordfront announced that the investigation had closed.
On the encrypted messaging app Telegram, Rasanen was one of the administrators of the Southport Wake Up chat, which had 14,000 members before it was closed on 5 August. The chat was set up following the mass stabbing in Southport on 29 July and played a key role in organising the riot which took place outside a mosque the following evening.
After a list of 39 immigration-related services in England was posted with a call for simultaneous arson attacks by one of the administrators, Rasanen used his Mr.AG account to repeatedly post a guide on how to commit arson attacks in the chat. The guide was authored by the Russian-Ukrainian neo-Nazi group National Socialism/White Power (NS/WP) Crew which is designated as a terrorist organisation in Russia and linked to several murders.
The guide was titled “arson.pdf” and included detailed instructions on how to perpetrate arson attacks, such as the types of fuel and ignition methods to use, as well as how to evade detection by the authorities. Rasanen’s publication of the arson guide alongside the list of targets indicated a desire to encourage lone wolf attacks against Britain’s immigration system in the week after two hotels housing refugees had been set alight. The arson threats prompted thousands of people to join anti-racist protests outside the targets on the list.
The Southport Wake Up chat also included calls to murder ethnic minorities, anti-fascists and government ministers. Telegram, which has a reputation for permitting neo-Nazi content, told Wired it was: “actively monitoring the situation and was removing channels and posts containing calls for violence.”
Rasanen has had a long association with British fascist group Patriotic Alternative (PA). Rasanen is in the private PA Gaming Telegram chat, which only has 181 members. He was also active in PA leader Mark Collett’s main Telegram chat prior to its deletion.
Posts by Rasanen have been shared by key figures in PA including Yorkshire regional organiser Sam Melia, former national fitness officer Kristofer Kearney (aka “Charlie Big Potatoes” and longtime member Darren Harrison (aka “Saint Harrison”). Melia is currently serving a two year jail sentence for producing racist stickers. Kearney is serving a four years and eight months sentence for sharing documents advocating neo-Nazi terrorism.
In one post on Telegram from October 2021, Rasanen expressed his support for PA by threatening to disclose the names and addresses of PA’s political opponents. They said: “i migth [sic] dox Anti-Pa cunts”. On the video streaming website Odysee, Rasanen has reposted several videos by PA leader Mark Collett and made his own videos on similar anti-Semitic themes. One video created by Rasenen reiterates his support for the NRM.
There are extensive connections between NRM and PA, with leading figures regularly appearing on each other’s podcasts and speaking at each other’s events. PA has organisers and supporters in jail for terrorism offences, former members of the banned neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action (NA) in its ranks and close ties with the NRM which is banned in Finland and in the United States.
Rasanen’s actions on Telegram and his connections with PA could get the group banned under the Terrorism Act 2000. This could designate hundreds of neo-Nazis as “terrorists” in one go and would risk pushing PA activists underground. NA members didn’t start planning terrorist attacks until after the group was banned and the presence of former NA member Matthew Hankinson at the Southport riot shows that state bans do not prevent neo-Nazis from becoming involved in violent disorder.
This was a joint investigation by Red Flare, Redox and Varis.
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Southport Wake Up Finland
