My name is 'death to traitors', Jo Cox's killer tells court

The man charged in the killing of British politician Jo Cox appeared in a Westminster court Saturday with a message.

"My name is death to traitors, freedom for Britain," Tommy Mair said when asked his name in the dock. 

Mair was not required to enter a plea and the judge did not ask for one. Keith Allen, his attorney, said there was no indication of what plea would be entered.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ordered Mair to be remanded in custody until his next appearance.

Mair, 52, is accused of killing Cox, a member of Britain's Parliament, in a brazen attack Thursday in her district in northern England. She was stabbed and shot on a Birstall street on a day she was a meeting with her constituents. 

Police said the suspect had been charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offense and possession of an offensive weapon.

Witnesses to the attack

Prosecutor David Cawthorne, in detailing the attack, laid out graphic details during Saturday's court proceedings.

The defendant approached Cox and repeatedly stabbed her with a large knife, causing her to fall to the floor, Cawthorne said, citing witness accounts.

Then, the suspect shot her three times as she lay on the ground, Cawthorne said.

Mair repeatedly stabbed Cox as she struggled and fought for life. During the attack, Mair was heard to say words to the effect of, "Britain first, Keep Britain independent, Britain always come first."

Mair also stabbed 77-year-old Bernard Carter-Kenny, Cawthorne said. Moments before the attack on Cox, Kenny stopped his car to drop off his wife at Birstall Library when he recognized Cox. 

The lawmaker had been meeting with people at a seniors home and then went to meet with constituents at the library.

As Cox was leaving her vehicle a knife-wielding man attacked her, Cawthorne said. 

Kenny scrambled out of his vehicle to help Cox. The attacker drove a large knife into Kenny's abdomen and he then struggled to a local café for help, the prosecutor said. 

Kenny suffered a serious injury and is in stable condition at a hospital, Cawthorne said.

Ties to right-wing extremism

 

Details have begun to emerge about Mair's interests in white supremacist and pro-apartheid groups, authorities said. 

During the investigation, West Yorkshire police found items in Mair's home indicating he had ties to right-wing extremism, Cawthorne said. 

Police called the findings a "priority line of enquiry which will help us establish the motive for the attack on Jo." 

Why was Cox targeted?

 

Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two, was an avid campaigner for the rights of refugees. Her death comes a week before the so-called Brexit, a crucial referendum on whether Britain should stay in the European Union. She was an open supporter of remaining in the bloc.

As the nation comes to terms with this tragedy, Cox's killing has muted the tone of public discussions over the upcoming referendum. 

The Brexit campaigning will resume on Sunday, both "Stronger In" and "Vote Leave" announced via social media on Saturday.

Cox championed the rights of immigrants and in one of her last posts on social media, she said while immigration "is a legitimate concern," it's not a good reason for Britain to leave the EU. 

One witness near the crime scene Thursday said the gunman shouted "Put Britain first" several times before and after the shooting, the Press Association reported.

 

The killing has muted the tone of public discussions over the referendum, which has focused heavily on immigration. 

Police explore Mair's ties to white supremacist group

Police said in a statement that the incident "appears to be an isolated, but targeted attack." 

Authorities are also investigating how the suspect got a firearm and are looking into his mental health. 

Mair may have had an interest in white supremacist groups, according to the U.S.-based Southern Poverty Law Center which published what it says are documents showing his history of purchasing material from the National Alliance white supremacist organization. 

The center released copies of receipts and a 2013 subscription to the National Alliance's publication National Vanguard as well as receipts from 1999 showing purchases for the neo-Nazi book "Ich Kampfe," the "Improvised Munitions Handbook" and other books. 

Mair also subscribed to a pro-apartheid group's magazine in the 1980s.

"A Mr. Thomas A. Mair from Batley in Yorkshire subscribed to our magazine S.A. Patriot when we were still published in South Africa itself," magazine editor A.D. Harvey told CNN, adding the publication had "no further contact with him" after brief correspondence in the mid-1980s.

"We were of course appalled and sickened to learn of the murder yesterday, of Ms. Jo Cox," Harvey said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, joins other political leaders in paying their respects to slain Parliament member Jo Cox on Friday, June 17.

Neighbors describe Mair as a loner and a "quiet" man who tended his garden and showed no particular political leanings. He kept to himself most of the time, but he engaged in conversations with neighbors when they spoke to him, they said.

Mair had lived in the house for a long time, one neighbor said. She didn't believe he had a regular job and saw him around at odd hours.

A half brother, Duane St Louis, told ITV News he'd never seen any sign that Mair had an interest in knives or guns, and said he had "never been in trouble" and "wouldn't hurt a fly."

Cox remembered

 

In a nation with tightly controlled gun laws and few homicides linked to weapons, Cox's attack was especially jarring. 

Crowds gathered for vigils in Birstall and in London's Parliament Square to pay tribute to Cox.

On Friday afternoon, political rivals UK Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn united to pay respects to Cox, attending a memorial service in the heart of Birstall.

There was an outpouring of emotion and support from family and friends as they gathered to pay their respects to Cox on Saturday. 

"We have to continue the strength and solidarity in the days, months and years to come as part of Jo's legacy," said Kim Leadbeater, Jo Cox's sister to media and onlookers at the Birstall memorial. "And to focus on, as Jo would say, 'that which unites us and not which divides us.'"

Source: CNN