English anti-migrant agitator arrested after slashing boat at sea

British police arrested anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, known online as Danny Tommo, after footage showed him approaching an inflatable dinghy in the English Channel and slashing it with a knife while a French rescue worker was aboard. He was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, endangering life, and offenses under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990, and reportedly told an officer 'I understand. I knew this was coming.'

Thomas founded the anti-migrant Patriot Platform this summer and had recently led protests in Dover and Portsmouth that blocked roads and disrupted port access. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, which he and other protesters accused of ferrying migrants, said its crews respond only when directed by the coast guard and rescue anyone in danger 'without judgment or preference'; the charity's Portsmouth station has been out of service since September 10 amid security concerns and volunteer harassment.

Thomas has prior convictions including a guilty plea to attempted kidnapping in 2016 and is separately facing charges for entering a restricted area of the Port of Dover. France has barred him and nine others from entering the country over concerns about inciting violence.

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