Twenty members of the Antifascist Front were arrested on Tuesday afternoon following a brawl with members of the Chez Nous far-right political party at a city café, according to an official police announcement on Friday.
The antifascists claim they tried explaining to the café owner that he was hosting representatives of this far-right party, asking him to remove them, but to no avail. It was then that banners were unfurled in protest outside the cafe, prompting the altercation.
“A group of about twenty individuals, some masked and hooded, entered the establishment intent on confrontation with seated patrons,” detailed the police, who promptly responded in full force to the scene.
“After checking the identities of all people involved, it was found this group consisted of Antifascist Front members from Liège, who went there targeting ‘Chez Nous’ party members. A non-involved customer sustained injuries during the fight,” they added.
Earlier on Tuesday afternoon, police had already been dispatched to respond to projectiles being thrown at the home of the president of the Chez Nous party on Observatory Avenue.
Police reported making a routine notification to the on-duty magistrate and a record of the assault and injuries was made. The Antifascist Front criticised the police response as being “disproportionate”, citing the extensive number of officers present.
