Tommy Robinson ‘encouraged mob rule’ in social media video outside grooming trial as he faces jail
TOMMY Robinson 'encouraged mob rule' in a social media broadcast outside a child grooming court trial, High Court judges have found.
The former EDL leader could be jailed for up to two years on Thursday after being found guilty of contempt of court last week.
Robinson - real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon - was in breach of a reporting restriction when he streamed footage of men accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls at Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.
The Old Bailey was told the video almost collapsed the trial of a West Yorkshire grooming gang and one pervert appealed his conviction arguing he had been unable to receive a fair hearing.
Giving reasons for the verdict at the High Court, Dame Victoria Sharp said the video will have been seen by viewers as "an incitement" to harass the defendants.
The judge said: "In our judgement, those words and the manner of their delivery were an encouragement to others to harass a defendant by finding him, knocking on his door, following him, and watching him, and this gave rise to a real risk that the course of justice would be seriously impeded.
CONTEMPT DEFINED: What is contempt of court and why can you be jailed for it?
In the UK, a person can be found in contempt of court if they wilfully defy a court order.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the main types of the offence can be physically interfering in a trial, threatening witnesses or obstructing justice.
Showing disrespect to a judge can also be contempt of the court.
If someone is in contempt of the Magistrates' Court, a person can be imprisoned for one month or face a fine of up to £2,500.
But for those in contempt of a crown court, they can be jailed for up to two years or face a fine.
In the UK, media can only report the facts of a case.
In the US, contempt of court is generally not considered to be a criminal offence.
Due to the First Amendment, the media outlet cannot be found in contempt of court.
"All of this has to be assessed in the context of the video as a whole, in which the respondent approves and encourages vigilante action.
"We are sure that what the respondent said in this passage will have been understood by a substantial number of viewers as an incitement to engage in harassment of the defendants."
Dame Victoria added that Robinson had made the video despite telling viewers that there was a reporting restriction and that his evidence he'd checked the details with the court were "not credible".
She continued: "In this case, the respondent was engaged in the agitation of members of the public in respect of what he presented as a serious threat to society.
"His words had a clear tendency to encourage unlawful physical or verbal aggression towards identifiable targets.
"Harassment of the kind he was describing could not be justified."
Throughout the Old Bailey hearing, Robinson denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not believe he was breaching reporting restrictions.
A number of Robinson's supporters who gathered outside the court on Thursday and Friday reacted angrily after the result was announced.
Robinson broadcast the footage while the jury in the second of a series of linked grooming trials was considering its verdict.
The 36-year-old, from Luton, Beds, is expected to be sentenced on Thursday.
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