Police in Glasgow are charging a cafe owner with breach of the peace. It comes after an attack on the building following an article in Scottish Sun. And the ‘anarchist cafe’ hasn’t even opened its doors yet.
“Down with the police”
Left-wing Jewish news outlet Vashti Media reported on 16 June that police are charging the owner of Pink Peacock with breach of the peace. Vashti Media said Glasgow Police spoke to directors Morgan Holleb and Joe Isaac because of a tote bag displayed in the cafe’s window. The bag says “fuck the police” on one side and “daloy politsey”, or “down with the police”, on the other.
According to Vashti Media, police officers didn’t make it clear to Holleb at the time that they were charging him. And he only found out “after seeing a story in the Glasgow Times”. Officers returned later in the day to take the bag away.
A statement by Glasgow Police said its actions came after it had “received complaints from the public”. But Pink Peacock said the police’s actions were “an obvious attempt to intimidate” those running the cafe.
Not for the first time
On 10 June, the Scottish Sun published an article claiming Pink Peacock had “sparked fury” for “banning cops and ‘terfs’”. The following night, members of the public caught a man painting the cafe’s windows.
By the following morning, however, Pink Peacock said “some other people had already cleaned the paint all off”. This incident comes after a window in the building was smashed on 27 May. And all of these events have occurred before the anarchist cafe has even opened its doors.
Solidarity
The community response to the series of attacks on Pink Peacock has been heartwarming. From autonomous individuals clearing the cafe’s windows of paint, to financial support following Holleb’s charging; locals and those further afield believe in Pink Peacock’s position.
And it shows that lines of radical solidarity continue to thrive, even in Britain’s contemporary culture.
Main image via Pink Peacock/Twitter
