An Anti-Muslim Vigilante Group Is Roaming The Melbourne CBD Pledging To “Keep Our Streets Safe”
The Soldiers of Odin describe themselves as a "patriotic social club."
A pack of anti-Islam, anti-immigration “patriots” are operating “safety patrols” in inner-city Melbourne, in response to a perceived uptick in violent gang-related crime. But despite being motivated by race, they’re totally not racists you guys. No way, no how.
Turns Out Half Of Australia Actually Supports Pauline Hanson’s Key Policy
Soldiers of Odin Australia is an offshoot of the far-right Finnish organisation of the same name. According to their Melbourne Facebook page, which is riddled with nauseating memes and Islamophobic rhetoric including a video that refers to gangs of Muslims who “systematically raped and abused thousands of young girls” in Europe, the group is opposed to “mass uncivilised immigration” and stands for “mateship and community”.
The page also insists that the Soldiers of Odin is definitely not “a racist group”, “a National Socialist group”, “a drug gang” or “a criminal organisation”. How very reassuring. “We’re fed up and our communities are fed up,” national president Jay B Moore told The Age. “We’re going where Apex and other gangs are popping up and causing trouble.”
“Our main goal is to make and keep our streets safe,” he said, adding that the group believes in “old-school Aussie values.”
Members of the Solider of Odin wear leather jackets emblazoned with a Viking helmet and an Australian flag. They are reportedly patrolling the area around Federation Square, Birrarung Marr and Bourke Street Mall in the Melbourne CBD, as well as outer suburbs including Werribee, Ringwood and Frankston.
The group claims to have more than 100 members around the country, with divisions operating in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The Age reports that they prefer the description “patriotic social club” to “vigilantes”.
–
Feature image via Soldiers of Odin/Facebook