A Muslim man has been apprehended following allegations of issuing threats against a candidate participating in a by-election in the United Kingdom due to the candidate’s pro-Israel stance.
Simon Danczuk, one of the contenders vying to become Rochdale’s Member of Parliament among a pool of 11 candidates, received a video message containing death threats earlier this week. The by-election was necessitated by the demise of the former MP, Sir Tony Lloyd of the Labour Party.
The individual in the video, identifying Danczuk, who formerly belonged to the Labour Party, as a “white devil,” menacingly vowed to “put one in his head.” The catalyst for the Muslim man’s ire stemmed from Danczuk’s campaign flyer bearing the tagline, “Vote for Rochdale not Gaza.”
Expressing profound distress and apprehension, Danczuk disclosed that the video message compelled him to enlist the presence of two security guards throughout the remainder of the campaign. He remarked to the Guardian, “It’s just unacceptable. They stopped me from speaking at a hustings meeting, I’m receiving death threats, and now we’ve got to have security personnel as a candidate going round in an election.”
In a career spanning 35 years in politics, Danczuk voiced his dismay, stating, “I’ve been doing politics for 35 years and I’ve never known it. It’s outrageous. This isn’t how British politics should work.”
The Greater Manchester police received the video on Monday and swiftly apprehended the 23-year-old Muslim man by Tuesday. Authorities disclosed that they acted upon detecting “an online threat in the run-up to the Rochdale byelection.”
