Elon Musk responds to UK riots by saying 'civil war is inevitable'

A riot-like situation has broken out in the UK, where three girls were stabbed to death by a boy. More than 400 people have been arrested so far, and X's Elon Musk, quoting a news article, commented that 'civil war is inevitable.' Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern about the situation, saying, 'We will deal with it with the full force of the law,' and 'This is not a protest, it is pure violence, and we will strengthen criminal justice and apply criminal laws not only offline but also online.'

UK faces resistance from X over taking down disinformation during riots

On Monday, July 29, 2024, a man armed with a knife broke into a dance studio attended by children in Southport, northwest England, killing three children and injuring 10 adults and children.

The perpetrator is a 17-year-old boy from Cardiff, the capital of Wales, but misinformation that he is a Muslim immigrant has spread on social media sites such as X, which has led to the incident in Southport in which stones have been thrown at mosques and police officers. Furthermore, protests have broken out in London and other places, taking on riot-like characteristics. It is believed that the incident was instigated by far-right groups opposed to the government's immigration policy.

X owner Elon Musk responded to a post that blamed mass immigration and open borders by saying 'civil war is inevitable.'

Civil war is inevitable

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 4, 2024

At a press conference on Monday, August 5, Starmer's spokesman said Musk's remarks were 'baseless.' 'What we have seen is coordinated, illegal violence that will not be tolerated in our streets or online. We are talking about a small minority of thugs who do not represent the UK. Starmer does not share Musk's views,' he said.

Heidi Alexander MP, Minister of State for Justice, also said social media platform owners must hold everyone on their platforms accountable and that posts linking the riots to civil war are 'completely unjustified'.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer made it clear he would take a tough stance, saying: 'I firmly condemn the far-right violence we saw this weekend and I can leave you without any doubt that anyone who took part in this violence will face law enforcement.'

I absolutely condemn the far-right thuggery we have seen this weekend.

Be in no doubt: those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law. pic.twitter.com/uNeJtD8pCQ

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 4, 2024

He also said, 'This is not a protest, it is pure violence. We have forces to confront the situation. We will strengthen criminal justice. We will apply criminal laws not only offline but also online. We will not tolerate attacks against Muslim communities or mosques,' warning against forces seeking to attack Muslims.

This is not protest, it is pure violence.

We will have a standing army of public duty officers.

We will ramp up criminal justice.

We will apply criminal law online as well as offline.

We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or on Muslim communities. pic.twitter.com/C1SmjJjo4R

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 5, 2024

Musk also quoted a post reporting that armed Muslim vigilantes had attacked a pub in response to right-wing protests, but that police forces that had been gathered in preparation for right-wing movements did nothing, and asked Prime Minister Starmer, 'Why don't you protect all communities in the UK?'

Why aren't all communities protected in Britain? @Keir_Starmer https://t.co/gldyguysNe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024

She also cited an article that suggested 'the reason sexual abuse of girls by Asian gangs is not being policed is because people don't want to be labeled as racists,' and asked, 'Is this still happening?' in a series of mentions.

Is this still happening? @Keir_Starmer https://t.co/4hbYdfB03Z

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024

As of Monday, August 5th, 420 people have been arrested in connection with the riots.