A man has been arrested after hurling objects at hard-right politician Nigel Farage at a campaign stop in northern England, police have said.
On Tuesday, Farage, who successfully led the push for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union in 2016, was at an event in Barnsley overlooking a crowd from atop an open-topped bus when someone threw an object up at him.
In a clip Farage posted on social media, the former European Parliament member can be seen flinching as the object speeds towards him. Then a man in the crowd appears to grab a second object from a nearby construction site and flings it, before running away from police.
South Yorkshire Police later said a 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of public order offences after the attack.
It’s the second time in a matter of days that Farage, the divisive champion of Brexit and an ally of Donald Trump, has been targeted. Last week, Farage was hit by a milkshake after a campaign appearance, echoing a similar milkshake incident ahead of the last general election in 2019.
“I will not be bullied or cowed by a violent left-wing mob who hate our country,” Farage wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Farage, who announced two weeks ago he would run for Parliament as the leader of the Reform UK party, has been rallying support for his anti-immigration platform.
Polling published by YouGov on Tuesday showed Reform UK is in third place, trailing Labour and and just one point behind the Conservative Party. Surveys have consistently put the Labour Party is a full 20 points ahead of Sunak’s Tories, paving the way for leader Keir Starmer to take over as the new prime minister.