(London) A man has been accused of stabbing a British Conservative MP to death while meeting his constituents last week.
Officials said 25-year-old Ali Harbi Ali, a Briton of Somali descent, has been charged with the murder of David Amess under the Terrorism Act.
British prosecutors have indicated that they will argue that the murder has a terrorist connotation, since it had religious and ideological motives. The suspect is also charged with a terrorist conspiracy.
Mr. Amess had been an MP for almost 40 years and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2015. His death shook the United Kingdom, and especially a political class proud to be close to its constituents. The conversations are now about how the country protects its leaders and confronts extremism at home.
Mr Amess’s murder comes five years after the assassination of MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed to death by a right-wing activist. Mme Cox was the first British parliamentarian to be killed in almost 30 years since a peace deal was struck in Northern Ireland.
Mr. Amess was 69 years old. He was opposed to abortion, defended animal rights and had strongly supported the UK’s exit from the European Union.