Wimborne Militia accounts reactivated after Facebook battle

Members of the Wimborne Militia are a popular attraction at annual events like the switching on of the town's Christmas lights

The Facebook accounts of historical re-enactors have been reinstated after they were apparently mistaken for US right-wing militia.

Five members of Dorset's Wimborne Militia had their accounts disabled last week, leaving them unable to post photos and content.

Members said their accounts were unfrozen following media coverage on Monday.

Facebook said the accounts had been "removed in error".

In August, the social media platform began taking down or restricting accounts backing right-wing conspiracies and US militia groups.

Wimborne Militia, which currently has about 60 members and recreates historical events such as the 1685 Monmouth Rebellion, is well known at local events.

The group believes it was targeted due to its name

With many of its activities cancelled during the pandemic, the group has relied on social media to keep in touch with members and stage virtual events.

While the five members, who were the group's Facebook page administrators, had their accounts disabled by the social media giant, the page itself remained online.

Chris Brown, who is also Wimborne's town crier, said he was "relieved" to have his account back, but had not had an apology or explanation from Facebook.

"I wouldn't want us to be associated with some of those violent people over there carrying round guns and talking about open rebellion - we talk about peace and community understanding," he said.

A spokesman for the Wimborne Militia said: "All we can imagine is that we've been caught up in an algorithm of deleting those pages because we've got 'militia' in our title and we refer to the militia in our personal accounts."

A Facebook spokesperson said: "The group and accounts were removed in error and have now been restored.

"We're sorry for any upset this has caused and we've taken steps to prevent this happening again."

Town crier Chris Brown was among those whose Facebook accounts were disabled