The UK government said Monday it will use its terrorism laws [official summary] to ban a neo-Nazi group, marking the first time such a step has been taken. The move would make it a crime [Guardian report] to be a member of, wear insignia, or work with the National Action [advocacy website] as it would fall under the umbrella of a terrorist organization. While the group rose to prominence for its anti-semitic and xenophobic stances, they recently began to encourage [Independent report] their members to use violence. The terrorism act provision is being used because the group used their now deleted social media to encourage lone wolf acts and showed members training for battle. Additionally, the group praised the murder of progressive MP Jo Cox [BBC report] due to her political views and adopted her killers court statement as their official slogan. The measure to ban the group is subject to Parliamentary approval.

The intersections of free speech and government intervention are still debated on the global stage. The Dutch district court of Haarlem said Friday that Geert Wilders, the leader of the Dutch right wing political party, Party for Freedom, was convicted [JURIST report] of inciting discrimination. Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court last week upheld [JURIST report] a law that effectively bans protests. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recentlyunveiled statewide initiatives to combat [JURIST Gothamist report] hate crime and protect civil rights.