Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair leaves the Royal Courts of Justice after testifying to the Leveson inquiry in London on May 28, 2012
Updated: Jan. 22, 10:20am EST
A London bartender attempted to put Tony Blair under citizen’s arrest when the former British prime minister entered his trendy restaurant Friday night.
Twiggy Garcia, also a DJ who goes by the name Ghoulian Assange on Twitter, was the fifth citizen who has tried to arrest Blair for war crimes.
In spite of fellow staff members’ discouraging words, Garcia approached Blair’s table, filled with family and friends. Garcia told Vice, “I went over to him, put my hand on his shoulder and said: ‘Mr Blair, this is a citizen’s arrest for a crime against peace, namely your decision to launch an unprovoked war against Iraq. I am inviting you to accompany me to a police station to answer the charge.'”
Blair reportedly declined the offer and responded, “No, shouldn’t you be worried about Syria?”
Garcia said he decided to leave after a brief conversation and a second offer to accompany the former PM to the police station, having noticed Blair’s son go downstairs to get security. He also quit his job on the spot.
A spokesman for Tony Blair took issue with the specifics of Garcia’s account. “There is nothing to report here apart from fact that Mr Blair did offer to discuss the issue – that offer was declined and the individual walked off. Nothing else happened. Everyone is fine and they had a great time at the restaurant.”
Garcia said he was inspired by the website arrestblair.org, which offers a bounty of about £2,150 (about $3,500) to anyone who can “arrest” Blair for his actions during the Iraq War.
[VICE]
This story was updated to include a response from Tony Blair’s office.