(Get the kettle on then...)
The attack by Fascists on a Radical bookshop in Nottingham in 1994, was significant in helping galvanise people towards a more militant anti-fascist stance in the East Midlands. Places like Heanor, Ilkeston, Mansfield, Sutton etc had seen surges in Fascist activity in previous years. Especially when Donaldson had relocated there after being booted out of London. There were still Blood and Honour gigs and other activities, which had kept up his legacy after his demise.
"Mushroom Bookshop" had been a part of the Left wing landscape around the area and was a great place for picking up newspapers like Red Action, Class War, Republican News and other stuff. But on the 15th of January that year a bus load of Fascists from Notts and Derbyshire had diverted into Nottingham city center when the gig they were travelling to down south had been cancelled. They made a bee-line straight across the Market Square and into the Hockley area where the shop was located. Many of them shouting abuse at people, sieg-heiling and so forth. On reaching the target many of them steamed in and started assaulting members of staff and customers, whilst trashing the place. Computers were wrecked and a fire extinguisher was thrown through the front window. Due to the ad-hoc nature of the attack around 39 arrests were made as they tried to make an escape.
Out of these only around 9 people were actually brought to trial. During the case East Midlands AFA had kept a close eye both inside and outside the courtroom. Due to this we noticed that the accused Fascists and their supporters were always travelling down in the same transit van, and parking across on some waste ground turned parking lot (which is now taken up by the Capitol One building). When the final day of the trial came, we had people sat in a pub round the corner, a couple in the public gallery and two of us doing circuits around the nearby streets. One of the first things to do was immobilise their vehicle, so three of us in a scout car pulled up into the parking lot next to their van. I gave 'D' an old lock-knife I had and he opened his side door, knelt down and began to slash the tyres. Unfortunately the knife was a bit shit and at one point he bent the blade back, cutting his own fingers with a loud "fuck!". Anyway, job done we felt certain the bastards weren't going to go anywhere that day.
The usual settling in, watching and waiting wore on and I could tell people were getting restless. Plus there was the typical eye of suspicion from the pub landlord at having to serve 30 people halves of coke for two hours. But as I came out the bar and walked down the street towards the court I saw one of our female members who'd been sat inside come running up: "they're coming out!". So I turned and ran like fuck, to stick my head round the door and notify everyone that it was all on. We'd briefed people the day before about not rushing straight in front of the courthouse (due to CCTV and obvious Press cameras) so we took a back route behind the court and up a side street into the car park. On entering it we saw just two guys next to the van, and their jaws just fucking dropped. We didn't know it but the other several members had been sent down and they had no back-up with them - these were the only ones left. With no other main exit from the car park I saw one of them, who was dressed in a Crombie, run and launch himself at the top of a wall. It must have been the adrenaline because he caught the top and managed to scramble over onto the canal walkway as three guys were trying to grab his legs.
Tempting as it was, some people held back so as not to create overkill, and watched as a bunch of us approached what was probably at that point "the loneliest man in the world". He began by saying in a terrified voice "I'm not a Nazi!...I just give lifts to boneheads!" (always amazes me how the fucking master race are quick to deny their ideology under pressure...I don't think if I was cornered in the same way I'd be screaming "don't hit me! I'm not a Socialist!"). Anyway, immediately afterwards I remember a few of us hoofing him around the car park whilst he desperately grabbed onto wing mirrors and bumpers to steady himself. He was originally quite smartly dressed and turned out, but by then I recall him as a mess, half crouched in a puddle with blood pouring from his mouth as someone kicked him repeatedly in the ribs. One of our Leicester lads was a kickboxer with a massive square head, and I remember him swinging a kick but just missing him. I was so close I actually felt the wind from his boot on my face. Also, despite some of the Brummie lads saying it looked "a bit too much", it was later stated that a couple of them couldn't resist giving him a few digs and saying "say No Surrender now then you bastard!".
As we walked back out, the parking attendent, who throughout all the commotion carried on sweeping the ramp and puffing on a fag just said "c'mon now lads. he's had enough".
Unfortunately the getaway had a few problems, when one of our lads ('B') was heading off, he took a wrong turn and was lifted by the cops who caught him with blood on his hands (which later secured a jail sentence). Another lad managed to hide under a car while the cops hunted around for him.
Later that day. Local TV news showed the Fascists defiantly walking into court, with the hapless individual coming up the rear smirking and giving a finger to the cameras not knowing what would befall him. The voiceover pointed out "this man was later hospitalized by political opponents".
