Man charged with murder in UK politician’s death

Associated Press

BIRSTALL, England

British police today charged a reclusive gardener with murder and other offenses in the slaying of a popular Labour Party lawmaker, Jo Cox, as evidence emerged the 52-year-old had decades-old ties to a neo-Nazi movement and an interest in anarchist weapons literature.

Detective Superintendent Nick Wallen of West Yorkshire Police said that Thomas Mair will appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates Court later today.

Mair was charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon, Wallen said.

As detectives questioned the suspect for a second day, authorities confirmed they were focused on his purported links to white supremacists and history of mental illness as they sought a motive for an act of violence that has shocked Britain and brought normal political life to a halt.

Prime Minister David Cameron joined the stunned citizens of Birstall in paying tribute to Cox as they placed flowers and hand-written notes on a memorial and struggled to comprehend how one of their own could have so viciously killed her.