LONDON, Oct 3 — The BBC has confronted a 20-year-old neo-Nazi in Finland who allegedly shared instructions on committing arson with rioters in the United Kingdom over the summer.
The individual, identified as Charles-Emmanuel Mikko Rasanen, was an administrator in the Southport Wake Up group on the Telegram messaging app, where he operated under the pseudonym “Mr AG.”
He reportedly posted an arson manual that remained pinned to the top of the group chat, which had over 14,000 members, BBC reported.
The group, active in late July and early August, played a role in organising protests that later turned violent in England and Northern Ireland.
BBC journalists tracked Rasanen to an apartment on the outskirts of Helsinki, Finland, where he is believed to have coordinated his online activities.
The Southport Wake Up group was created shortly after the killings of three young girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29.
A protest was organised on St Luke's Road the following day, escalating into a riot.
Before the group was taken down by Telegram moderators, members shared locations of refugee centres as potential targets, alongside Rasanen’s pinned post containing the arson guide.
The guide is believed to have been written by a Russian fascist group labelled as terrorists in Russia.
It detailed how to evade law enforcement and encouraged targeting of Muslim and Jewish communities.
Despite being contacted by the BBC, Rasanen refused to answer questions but did not deny his involvement.
He accused the BBC of harassment and contacted local police.
Rasanen is also reportedly linked to the far-right Nordic Resistance Movement and has posted content celebrating Adolf Hitler.
UK-based anti-fascist research group Red Flare first identified Rasanen’s real identity. The group stated that his actions illustrate the global reach of far-right extremism, saying, "This is a case of a young man in another country instigating racist violence in Britain."
While the UK government has yet to take action against Rasanen, Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, said if Rasanen were in the UK, he could face prosecution under the Terrorism Act 2006. However, it remains unclear if Finland would extradite him.
A Telegram spokesperson confirmed the platform had removed the Southport Wake Up group and said it was prepared to cooperate with authorities in both the UK and Finland.
The UK government stated it is working on implementing the Online Safety Act to curb illegal content online.
