Earlier this month, HOPE not hate analysed a new dynamic in the anti-migrant movement, which is increasingly seeing more so-called YouTube “auditors” moving into what is termed “migrant hunting”. Today we can reveal that one of the most objectionable people behind this trend is Christopher Lee Matthews, who anonymously runs the ST Audits channel.
Matthews frequently accompanies his friend and migrant hunting colleague, Joe Gough (AKA “Joe Vloggs”), to sites of temporary accommodation, in order to wind-up and bait security, migrants and asylum seekers into a confrontation for views and revenue on social media. Matthews does this in an extremely hostile and aggressive manner, always covering his face with a snood or balaclava, and often wearing a stab vest. At six feet tall and with a large, imposing frame from his wrestling days, Matthews intimidates others for both online clout and his own personal benefit.
Meanwhile, on social media, Matthews has shown himself to be a committed racist and bigot, with all manner of posts attacking migrants, refugees, Muslims and the transgender community.
HOPE not hate is publishing this information because we believe Matthews poses a serious concern to hotel security, staff and temporary residents, and as a result should be avoided.
With just over 8k subscribers on his YouTube channel at the time of writing, Matthews has a smaller audience than better-known members of the “auditor/migrant hunter” milieu. However, what he currently lacks in followers, he more than makes up for in antagonism and rancour. The majority of his 82 videos on the ST Audits channel are focused on migrant hunting at sites of temporary accommodation. Others have titles such as “ANOTHER 3rd World Shithole Alleyway In Stoke On Trent…” or “Culturally Enriched COBRIDGE | Hamas Supporters | NEW SUPER Mosque | RAT Infested Alleyways” and “SHITHOLE Alleyways Of Stoke On Trent. Freezers Sofas. Tunstall Is A 3rd World Islamic SHITHOLE”.
Partnering with Gough, Matthews’s approach to concealing his identity, coupled with his history as a doorman, makes him confident in ramping up the hostility on visits to sites of temporary migrant accommodation. Indeed, Matthews has one of the most confrontational and belligerent approaches that we have come across.
Matthews is always ready and willing for a clash; baiting and needling security and other staff with pointless disagreements, personal insults and generally unpleasant behaviour, such as in one video where he called a young man and woman “Grindr boy” and “Only Fans girl” respectively.
His alarming appearance and aggressive style frequently, and understandably, instigates concern and some degree of pushback from staff who have a duty of care to both residents and colleagues. When this occurs Matthews, like Gough and others in this area of activism, is more than prepared to use “crybully” tactics in order to accuse others of wrongdoing.
Whilst Matthews frames himself as a “citizen journalist” and a reporter, online he has revealed the true nature of his motivations. This spans from comments during videos, such as in a live stream on 16 May with Gough in which Matthews said: “Migrants aren’t vulnerable people, they’re violent people”, through to his incessant meme posting on his channels. These posts, of which there are some examples below, tend to cohere around a consistent theme that is anti-Muslim and anti-refugee.
From the above, it appears clear that Matthews’ activism is driven by an entrenched hatred of Muslims, refugees and asylum seekers. His videos indicate that he is interested in nothing more than provoking and antagonising, whilst making life harder for working people, and contributing to a climate of anti-migrant hate in the meantime.
In order to identify ST Audits, we cross-referenced a photo of an unmasked-Marshall from the early days of his “activism” with various identifying features visible via the ST Audits and other YouTube channels. From there, we were able to link him to Joe Gough via a personal social media account which, along with various other components, helped to confirm the connection.
Matthews is a former doorman from the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme bar and nightclub scene. The adventures from this period in his life are clearly something he likes to talk about, with his website containing various violent “war stories” from over the years.
These stories (of which there are several) include knocking a student out with an uppercut, dangling someone over a balcony, and alluding to an arsenal of personal and dangerous weapons kept nearby, seemingly whilst on shift:
“Barmaids are a doorman’s best friend. They’ve hidden countless weapons of mine in their handbags over the years. Knuckledusters, bayonets, machetes, claw hammers, you name it – they’ve stored and concealed it for me.”
Christopher Lee Matthews
This apparent fascination with deadly weapons continued after his stint on the doors came to an end, with Matthews posting photos of his collection of samurai swords and other bladed weapons on his blog and on social media.
In the 1990s, Matthews was a professional wrestler who went by the alias Chris Curtis, nicknamed “The Crippler”. Making his debut in the ring in 1991, Matthews went on to have a 25-year career in the sport as well as, according to his blog, being “a self defence and martial arts enthusiast […] wrestling coach, and promoter”.
People in many different kinds of circumstances end up in temporary migrant accommodation; they are a very imperfect solution to a complex situation made more difficult by woefully under-resourced government departments. But it bears emphasising: there are individuals in temporary accommodation around the country who have escaped potentially life-threatening circumstances in their home countries. By plastering their faces on YouTube, migrant hunters like Matthews, Gough and others are possibly putting them in harm’s way.
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