A Black Lives Matter group in South Wales has been closed following an alleged infiltration attempt by the police.
Swansea BLM cited concerns for their members’ safety, harassment and threats from the far right as the primary reasons for shutting down its operations.
The news emerges after one of the group’s main organisers, Lowri Davies, revealed last year that a police officer tried to persuade her to become an informant, secretly recording the approach and publishing it.
In a statement published on Monday, the collective explained that the decision has been taken following concerns for their members’ welfare.
“We’re dissolving our organisation for a number of reasons, including the physical and mental safety of all our team members. Whilst we have found that our organisation has done some important work, we have been subject to an attempt of infiltration at the end hands of South Wales Police, doxxing and targeted harassment from Voice of Wales and some far-right members turning up at members’ homes.
“Swansea has proven to be a tricky place to mobilise, and we have found it difficult to find volunteers and a considerable amount of our members left (understandably so) when South Wales Police attempted their infiltration.
“We’ve had a great year and half of organising but it’s time to dissolve our organisations, a decision which has been further cemented by the lack of community within organising spaces.”
Swansea BLM expresses hope that “another progressive and proactive” organisation appears that others can mobilise around in Swansea.
The group campaigned against racism and consisted of around seven core members with hundreds of supporters online. It was established in the wake of George Floyd’s murder by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, in the US 2020.
Last March, after Ms Davies released recordings of a police officer trying to recruit her as a mole, she said: “When I recorded my calls with the South Wales Police, I knew that this would be a news story.
“I would be determined to show south Wales and the UK how the cops are trying to squash dissent through deceiving people in leftist spaces.
“They showed me their manipulative nature, grooming young people into working for them—scaring them into providing information with cloak-and-dagger meetings and telling you to keep quiet for your own safety.”
A South Wales Police spokesperson said they will neither confirm nor deny any specific details in relation to this matter.
“A complaint was received which refers to contact made by a covert officer,” they added. “This is currently being investigated and therefore it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
