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At around 5 AM Friday morning an arsonist entered Angel Alley, smashed a window, poured accelerant into the shop and sent the books, pamphlets, and irreplaceable archives of Freedom newspaper up in flames.That night I went inside the building with one of the shop’s most dedicated activists, Andy. It smelled awful, there was soot across the roof and charred books sat in piles. There was no structural damage to the building but Freedom has no insurance and were already mired in the financial shit. Looking at the horrific mess, I thought the shop would have to close for months, but this morning they’re back open for business.Before you joke about anarchists owning a building, or organising a cleanup, read up on the rich history of working class self-organisation the movement draws on. At its height in 1930s Spain, anarchists ran collectivized hospitals and operated Spain’s most popular daily newspaper.

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The last time I stopped by the shop they had just been posted a copy of an ultra-nationalist magazine reviewing the book. Its admission of the ruthless tactics used to defeat the right had clearly touched some nerves. Embarrassed has-beens from Combat 18 could have come back to settle old scores, just last week they hosted a secret gig in London.Speaking to anarchists in a nearby pub, many feared the arsonists could be linked to the fantasist group England’s Golden Dawn, a new far-right splinter group making big noises on Facebook, made up of the usual EDL rejects. No groups have acknowledged the attack took place, although one Casuals United organizer did post to her Facebook about the attack, stating “what goes around comes around."Less likely possibilities include some of the more fringe wings of the anarchist movement. One post on Indymedia tried to claim Freedom were “cop collaborators” as a justification for the attack. The collective have made efforts in recent years to sideline anti-social elements within the anarchist scene.

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