UK right-wing activist: Britain 'took the wrong side' in World War II

The arrest of the self-proclaimed Nazi came at a time when European Jews fear a resurgence of antisemitism from the rise of nationalism.

Swastikas displayed in Brussels as part of a light show recalling the Nazi era. (photo credit: REUTERS/FRANCOIS LENOIR)
Swastikas displayed in Brussels as part of a light show recalling the Nazi era.
(photo credit: REUTERS/FRANCOIS LENOIR)
A self-proclaimed Nazi told gatherings of far-right audiences that Jews are parasites who should be eradicated, a UK court heard on Tuesday.
The prosecuting attorney at the Preston Crown Court, Mathew Brooks, commented that the defendant from Lancashire, who can’t be named for legal reasons, wanted "other people to hate the Jews in the same way that he does."
According to the BBC, The 22-year-old denies the two counts of stirring up racial hatred, but a video was shown in court of the defendant stating Jews are a "disease" to a right-wing audience.
Brooks claims the defendant has “far right-wing views” and the jurors were told that the trial is about remarks that are "threatening and abusive comments about the Jewish race."
"You can call me Nazi, you can call me fascist. That is what I am," he is shown saying in the video.
Tweets written by the defendant were also used as evidence in court. One tweet, which included a picture of Hitler said, "[Winston] Churchill was a warmonger who took us to war against those we should have called comrades."
Another tweet said, “The United Kingdom is dead and only held in place by a Jewish monarchy."
The trial is ongoing.
The arrest and trial comes at a time when European Jews fear a resurgence of antisemitism.
In Poland, 60,000 nationalists marched through Warsaw in November shouting antisemitic and racist slogans gaining influence over the ruling party.
 
European Jewish groups expressed concern when the far-right Alternative for Germany party won 13 percent of seats in German parliament in September.
Leaders in Israel also expressed distrust when the anti-Islam Freedom Party (FPO), a party founded by former Nazis, came in third in October's Austrian parliamentary election with 26 percent of the vote. 
Reuters contributed to this article.