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Thousands of supporters of the far-right British agitator known as Tommy Robinson marched through the streets of London on Saturday — many of them carrying flags or placards — before holding a rally in the city center.
Mr. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is the highest-profile leader of Britain’s dispersed but growing far-right movement. His name was chanted at some of the anti-immigrant riots that shook the country in August.
Although Mr. Robinson, 41, organized and promoted the rally, he will not attend, as he was taken into police custody on Friday ahead of a court hearing on Monday, where he faces charges of repeatedly libeling a Syrian refugee in breach of a 2021 injunction.
Antiracism activists have planned a counterprotest on Saturday. The police said in a statement on Friday that the two demonstrations would take place in different parts of central London and that officers would monitor closely to ensure those involved stayed “sufficiently far apart” to prevent serious disorder.
As the demonstrations ended on Saturday, the police said that two arrests were made. Two more were made at the counterprotest, although one of those was later rescinded when the woman detained agreed to give her details, having previously refused to do so. One other person whose protest affiliation had not been confirmed was also arrested on Saturday, the police added.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who is Tommy Robinson?What is Saturday’s rally about?Why is Tommy Robinson due in court on Monday?
Who is Tommy Robinson?
The founder of the English Defence League, an Islamophobic, nationalist group known for its violent street protests in the late 2000s and 2010s, Mr. Robinson was until recently a marginal figure in British politics.
He was banned from Twitter in 2018 for breaching its rules on “hateful conduct” and his accounts on Facebook and Instagram were suspended the following year for repeatedly breaking rules on hate speech.
For a few years his influence waned. But after Twitter, now called X, was bought by Elon Musk in 2022, Mr. Robinson’s account was reinstated. He now has more than a million followers and a video he posted there called “Silenced” has had 55 million views. Mr. Musk responded to one of Mr. Robinson’s posts this year with two exclamation marks.
Mr. Robinson has cultivated connections with right-wing groups in the United States, appearing on media outlets such as Fox News and the Infowars website, and received funding from a conservative U.S. research institute, the Middle East Forum. The former leader of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, who was imprisoned for his role in the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol, called him an inspiration.
After three children died in a stabbing attack at a dance class in Southport, England, in August, Mr. Robinson was accused of helping foment the riots that followed. He spread false information about the identity of the attacker on social media and told his followers on X: “Get there and show your support. People need to rise up.”
Mr. Robinson has several criminal convictions and has served four stints in prison, including in 2005 for assault, in 2012 for using someone else’s passport to travel to the United States, in 2014 for mortgage fraud and in 2018 for contempt of court.
What is Saturday’s rally about?
In recent weeks Mr. Robinson has called on his followers to attend a “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London. The demonstration is expected to focus on the treatment of those arrested for having taken part in the summer riots; many convicted of violent acts have received prison sentences. Some family members of the imprisoned may attend.
The rally will be a test of the extreme right’s capacity to mobilize. In late July, thousands joined Mr. Robinson in another “Unite the Kingdom” demonstration in central London. But threatened protests around the country after the summer riots fell flat when the right-wing demonstrators were heavily outnumbered by counterprotesters.
Before his arrest Mr. Robinson told his followers on social media that Saturday’s rally would go ahead even if he was unable to attend. “Saturday is not off. No matter what. Everything is arranged & in place even if I’m not there,” he wrote.
Why is Tommy Robinson due in court on Monday?
In 2021, Mr. Robinson was sued for making false claims about a teenage Syrian refugee, Jamal Hijazi, who was assaulted at a school in northern England. After videos of the attack on the refugee spread online, Mr. Robinson falsely stated in videos on Facebook that the refugee “violently attacks young English girls in his school,” “beat a girl black and blue” and had threatened to stab a boy.
His posts were viewed more than a million times, according to court documents.
At trial, a judge found Mr. Robinson guilty of libel and ordered him to pay 100,000 pounds in damages, around $137,000, as well as the teenager’s legal costs. The judge said that as a result of the posts Mr. Hijazi “became the target of abuse which ultimately led to him and his family having to leave their home, and the claimant to have to abandon his education.”
The court issued an injunction ordering Mr. Robinson not to post or publish similar allegations against Mr. Hijazi.
Mr. Robinson is set to appear in court on Monday on charges of repeatedly breaching the injunction, including by broadcasting a film that included libelous statements about the refugee at the London demonstration in July.
He was initially ordered to appear in court on July 29 but left the country before the hearing. He handed himself in to a police station in Folkestone, Kent, on Friday and will remain in custody until Monday morning, the police said in a statement. If he is found guilty, he could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.
Nick Lowles, the head of Hope Not Hate, a British advocacy group that researches extremist organizations, said in a statement on Friday: “It is likely that Lennon will now try to position himself as a martyr for free speech.”
Megan Specia contributed reporting.
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