Demonstrators torched buildings and vehicles, and blocked roads in Belfast on Tuesday evening, a day after the stabbing, allegedly by a refugee originally from Sudan, shocked the United Kingdom.
The 30-year-old suspect is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court later on Wednesday charged with attempted murder. He is also charged with possession of a bladed article in public and threats to kill.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation but appeals for calm from authorities went unheeded in some areas of the UK territory.
Michelle O’Neill, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, slammed the protests and urged calm.
“Groups of masked men burning families out of their homes is nothing less than disgusting cowardice,” she said on X.
“Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur. There can be no excuse and no justification for these attacks tonight. No one wants to see this on our streets and I again appeal for calm”.
US tech billionaire Elon Musk had earlier retweeted a post by anti-immigration activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon — also known as Tommy Robinson — adding: “Only by protesting REPEATEDLY and LOUDLY will there be any change!!”.
As anti-immigration figures, including Reform party leader Nigel Farage and Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe, demanded details about the attacker, the interior ministry confirmed he was a Sudanese refugee with a residence permit valid until 2028.
Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher said he had arrived in the UK in 2023 via Paris and Dublin He added that the suspect “was not known” to police.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the incident “horrific” and “sickening” on X.
The leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties issued a joint statement condemning the incident, saying “there is no place in our society for this kind of brutality”.
The leaders and police urged people not to share the video, noting its “graphic nature would only serve to re-traumatise those involved”.
But numerous social media accounts linked to so-called “patriots” were sharing the footage, urging people to “protest against mass immigration into their communities”.
Immigration has become a hot-button issue in Britain, and helped fuel the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party in the polls.
