BILLY Wright did not look like a man facing a death threat as he sauntered through the crowds who had gathered for a rally to support him in Portadown, Co Armagh, last night. He displayed no emotion as supporters shook his hand and slapped his back.
Thousands of people took part in the demonstration, which was addressed by DUP MP the Rev William McCrea.
Mr Wright is defying a threat from the Combined Loyalist Military Command to leave Northern Ireland within 72 hours. That deadline expired at midnight last Saturday. The threat was issued because of his constant criticisms the loyalist leadership and demands for a more militant stance.
A slight, slender man, he is worshipped by his followers. He wore a black suit and crisp white shirt. A tattooed minder put his arms tenderly around Mr Wright's shoulder to protect him from the press. Camera crews and photographers followed the dissident loyalist's every movement. For a night, he was a loyalist Gerry Adams.
An old woman in a red coat said the CLMC threat was disgraceful and she was praying for him. "David Irvine and Billy Hutchinson don't speak for me. They should defend Billy Wright, not make life hard for him. Billy Wright is a good man. He loves his people."
The crowd marched to a football pitch led by Portadown True Blues Band. They cheered and shouted "No Surrender" as Mr Wright passed by. The streets were lit up with red white and blue bunting. Youths stood on the corners wearing T shirts with the slogan "MidUlster UVF. For God and Ulster. Simply the Best".
The district master of Portadown Orange Lodge, Mr Harold Gracey, and Ms Cathy Kerr, whose husband, Alex, has also been ordered to leave Northern Ireland, shared the platform with Mr McCrea.
Mr McCrea said he was there to defend democracy and the basic civil right of freedom of expression. The Union was not safe and anyone who claimed otherwise was "lying through their teeth".
He condemned the death threat against Mr Wright. If anyone had any evidence that he was involved in crime, they should place it before a court of law, he said. A man was innocent until proven guilty. The only charge levelled against Mr Wright was that he disagreed politically with the Progressive Unionist Party, Mr McCrea stated.
He would not be surprised if PUP spokesmen, Mr Billy Hutchinson and Mr David Irvine, ordered him out of Northern Ireland next. "Well I have news for you boys. I'm not leaving", said Mr McCrea.
Finally, Mr Wright addressed the crowd, saying he had committed no crime but was sick of the lies and deceit of certain politicians who called themselves loyalists. He hoped the CLMC would lift the death threat, which he said grassroots loyalists opposed.
He had escaped IRA assassination attempts and he would not be running away from danger now.
"I am not afraid to die", Mr Wright said, and the crowd cheered. Everyone sang God Save the Queen and then they left, Billy Wright and his people.
Meanwhile, supporters of the north Belfast soccer club, Cliftonville, were last night prevented from attending the game against Crusaders at the Oval ground in east Belfast, Gerry Moriarty reports. Police had to intervene to try and stop serious clashes between the Cliftonville supporters and loyalists from east Belfast, who blocked them from entering the Oval at Dee Street.
Several stones and bottles were thrown during the confrontation, although there were no reports of serious injury. The clash disrupted city traffic.