# Ground-Level Activist Funding — UK Far-Right # Ground-Level Activist Funding — UK Far-Right *Last updated: 2026-06-14* ## Overview This document covers the **small-scale, informal, and street-level** funding that sustains UK far-right activism — as distinct from the billionaire/electoral pipeline documented in the main research. Ground-level funding is harder to track but forms the operational bedrock for street movements, legal defense, and day-to-day organising. --- ## 1. Crowdfunding Platforms ### GiveSendGo (US Christian Platform) The most important platform for UK far-right crowdfunding after deplatforming from GoFundMe, JustGiving, and PayPal. **Known UK campaigns:** - **PA member Costello**: £3,379 raised via GiveSendGo, described as "political prisoner". Campaign set up by Samuel Melia (known PA member). Source: The Ferret, Aug 2024. - **Tommy Robinson legal defense**: Multiple campaigns, amounts unclear. Robinson has used GiveSendGo for legal fees. - **General pattern**: GiveSendGo allows neo-Nazi fundraising that other platforms ban. The platform's "Christian" framing doesn't prevent this. **The 2022 leak:** - 92,000+ donor records leaked (Freedom Convoy-focused but contained ALL campaigns) - Hosted by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) - Data includes names, emails, IP addresses, ZIP codes - **Key gap**: The full leak has NOT been systematically analysed for UK recipients. This is a significant research opportunity — the dataset likely contains UK far-right campaign donors. - Anti-disinformation org Logically reported in Jan 2022 that GiveSendGo was "the hub for a far-right funding network" including QAnon, anti-vaccine, and Project Veritas. **What we need:** - Access to the DDoSecrets leak dataset - Filter for UK-specific campaigns (GBP currency, UK locations) - Cross-reference donor names with known far-right figures ### GoFundMe / JustGiving - Mainstream platforms generally remove far-right campaigns quickly - JustGiving: John Myles (PDL) raised £16,544 for "4 Miles For Myles & MND Challenge" (charity, not political, but demonstrates fundraising network) - GoFundMe bans legal defense for violent crimes and hate promotion ### SubscribeStar / Patreon / Buy Me a Coffee - Used by far-right influencers as alternative to demonetised YouTube channels - **SubscribeStar**: Popular with deplatformed creators, including UK far-right figures - **Buy Me a Coffee**: Lightweight donation tool, harder to track - Amounts unknown — no public disclosure requirements --- ## 2. Merchandise Sales A pervasive, low-visibility funding stream for nearly every group. ### Britain First / Advance UK - **iNews investigation (Jan 2026)**: Both groups sell merchandise "Made in China" and "Made in Pakistan" — despite campaigning for British-made goods - Items: t-shirts, hoodies, flags, patches, mugs - Storefronts on their own websites (Shopify or similar) - Revenue: Unknown but described as ongoing funding stream ### Patriotic Alternative - Sells t-shirts, stickers, flags via website - Hope not Hate: "tacky lines of merchandise are producing dwindling levels of support" - Revenue: Unknown, likely small-scale - **Key finding**: PA's merchandise and crowdfunding may be declining — the group is "flagging" per HnH Oct 2024 ### Active Club Network - **White Rex** brand: Combat sports clothing branded for white supremacist market - MMA/fight club events generate revenue through ticket sales and merch - Centralised merch operations (Terror Machine) route money to Robert Rundo - Revenue: Unknown — BBC and ADL have flagged this as a concern ### General Pattern - Print-on-demand means low overhead — no inventory risk - Platforms: Shopify, Teespring/Spring, Spreadshirt, Printful - Some groups use encrypted/private storefronts on Telegram - **Regulatory gap**: Merchandise sales are NOT reportable as political donations --- ## 3. Cryptocurrency Fundraising ### Why Crypto? - Deplatformed by PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Visa, Discover - Pushes groups toward Bitcoin, Monero (privacy coin), and crypto donation bots - Telegram integrated wallets (Button Wallet, NOWPayments) make it trivially easy ### Scale of Crypto Extremist Funding (Global) - **Chainalysis 2025 report**: Crypto donations to extremist groups dipped globally BUT white supremacism and anti-Semitism grew across Europe - **Europe's share**: Rose to ~50% of global extremist crypto inflows between 2022-2024 - **Daily Stormer** (Andrew Auernheimer): $2.2M in Bitcoin at current values - **Nordic Resistance Movement**: "Hundreds of thousands of dollars" in Bitcoin - **ADL 2024 report**: Traced $142,546 between extremist actors and exchanges (Kraken, Gemini, Binance) ### UK-Specific Crypto Activity - **UTK coin**: "Unite the Kingdom" cryptocurrency promoted at Tommy Robinson's Sep 2025 rally. Logo visible during livestream. Described as route to "financial freedom". Sponsor: Core Signals (warned by FCA). - **Reform UK**: First UK party to accept Bitcoin donations (May 2025). Electoral Commission "doesn't know where" the crypto donations come from (Byline Times, Mar 2026). - **Tommy Robinson**: QR codes for crypto donations displayed at rallies. TBIJ described the UTK rally as a "cash grab". - **Telegram channels**: Many UK far-right groups post Bitcoin/Monero wallet addresses for donations ### What We Need - Systematic collection of crypto wallet addresses from UK far-right Telegram channels - Blockchain analysis of inflow/outflow (tools: Chainalysis, TRM Labs, or public explorers) - Focus on Monero — the privacy coin preferred by extremists (harder to trace) --- ## 4. Legal Defense Funds A recurring funding need — activists are frequently arrested and need legal representation. ### Tommy Robinson - **Constant legal battles**: Multiple arrests, terror act detention (Feb 2025), contemp of court - **Funding mix**: US donors (Shillman, Andy Miller, Elon Musk allegedly), GiveSendGo, direct appeals to supporters - **Politico EU**: "Elon Musk to fund Tommy Robinson's legal fight, supporters claim" (Dec 2024) - **Typical pattern**: Robinson posts video asking for money → supporters send crypto/PayPal → legal fees paid ### Patriotic Alternative - **£14,500 raised** (2024) to "support families" of convicted members. Source: Hope not Hate - Sam Melia and Costello both convicted — PA crowdfunding for their support - **Key insight**: PA is now providing financial support to members facing legal consequences — suggests institutional maturity ### Britain First - Legal fee crowdfunding is a recurring theme - £200,000 undeclared donation (via shell company) — VICE investigation ### PDL / Street Activists - Legal support for members arrested at counter-protests - Funded by Telegram donations and informal collections - Amounts unknown --- ## 5. Major US Donors to UK Street-Level Activity This bridges the "billionaire" and "ground-level" categories. US individuals are directly funding UK street events. | Donor | Amount | Recipient | Event | Source | |-------|--------|-----------|-------|--------| | **Andy Miller** (US Republican donor) | $200,000 | Tommy Robinson | Unite the Kingdom rally (Sep 2025) | TBIJ, HnH, May 2026 | | **Robert Shillman** | $100,000 | Tommy Robinson | Unite the Kingdom rally (Sep 2025) | TBIJ, HnH, May 2026 | | **Elon Musk** (alleged) | Unknown | Tommy Robinson | Legal fees | Politico EU, Dec 2024 | **Andy Miller** is a US Republican donor — previously not in our research. This is a new lead that connects US GOP donor networks directly to UK street-level far-right activity. --- ## 6. Shell Companies and Obfuscation ### Britain First Shell Company - **VICE investigation**: Britain First set up a shell company to disguise £200,000 donation - Electoral Commission found £200,000 of undeclared donations in 2016 - Pattern: use limited company registration to obscure donor identity ### Patriotic Alternative Ltd (12759841) - Registered company provides some transparency - Micro-entity accounts required at Companies House - **Action needed**: Download and analyse latest accounts --- ## 7. Funding Channels — Full Summary | Channel | Transparency | Scale | Groups Using It | Difficulty to Track | |---------|-------------|-------|-----------------|-------------------| | GiveSendGo crowdfunding | Low (public campaigns) | £3k-£50k per campaign | PA, Robinson, Britain First | Medium | | Merchandise sales | Very low (private sales) | Unknown, likely small | ALL groups | Hard | | Crypto (Bitcoin/Monero) | Pseudonymous | Growing globally (£Ms) | Robinson, PA, ACN + Telegram groups | Very hard (Monero = near impossible) | | Legal defense crowdfunding | Low | £10k-£100k per case | Robinson, PA, Britain First | Medium | | US individual donors | Ad-hoc public | $100k-$200k per event | Robinson | Low (when reported) | | Shell companies | Opaque | £200k+ per case | Britain First | Hard | | Telegram / informal | Zero transparency | Unknown | PDL, local groups | Very hard | | Patreon / SubscribeStar | Low | Unknown | Individual influencers | Medium | | Event revenue (tickets, QR codes) | Zero transparency | Unknown | Robinson, PDL | Very hard | --- ## Priority Actions ### High Priority - [ ] **GiveSendGo 2022 leak analysis** — search the leaked dataset for UK campaigns. The raw data is hosted by DDoSecrets. Filter for GBP, UK locations, and known far-right figures. - [ ] **Andy Miller profile** — US GOP donor who gave $200,000 to Tommy Robinson's rally. Who is he? What's his network? - [ ] **Patriotic Alternative Ltd accounts** — download from Companies House (12759841). Latest micro-entity accounts will show revenue. - [ ] **Telegram crypto wallet collection** — systematically collect BTC/Monero addresses from UK far-right Telegram channels. ### Medium Priority - [ ] Britain First / Advance UK merchandise revenue estimates - [ ] Active Club Network / White Rex financial footprint - [ ] SubscribeStar analysis for UK far-right creators - [ ] Cross-reference GiveSendGo leak for Tommy Robinson campaigns - [ ] UTK coin analysis — who created it, who profited? ### Lower Priority - [ ] Buy Me a Coffee profiles of far-right influencers - [ ] John Myles (PDL) fundraising network map - [ ] Cash collection at far-right events (un-trackable but worth noting) --- ## Sources - The Ferret (Aug 2024): "UK far right raises money for convicted racists on US platform used by neo-Nazis" - Hope not Hate (Oct 2024): "Patriotic Alternative: Flagging Fascist Group Finds New Funding Stream" - Hope not Hate (May 2026): "Big Money, Dwindling Crowds: Tommy Robinson Demonstration" - TBIJ (May 2026): "Unite the Kingdom rally was a cash grab" - iNews (Jan 2026): "UK nationalist parties sell patriotic merchandise made in Pakistan and China" - VICE: "Revealed: How Britain First Disguised the Source of a £200,000 Donation" - PBS Frontline: "'White Dissidents' Raise Millions in Cryptocurrency" - Chainalysis (2025): "Cryptocurrency donations to extremist groups dip globally" - Byline Times (Mar 2026): "The Elections Watchdog Doesn't Know Where Reform UK's Crypto Donations Are Coming From" - GNET (2021): "Far-Right Fundraising on Telegram"