Not content with merely campaigning for United States President-elect Donald Trump and urging Germans to vote for the far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the country’s upcoming elections, American billionaire Elon Musk is ruffling political feathers in the United Kingdom as well with an online campaign to free Tommy Robinson, a far-right activist, from prison.
Here is more about Robinson, who is currently serving time for violation of an injunction but has also previously been jailed for assault and contempt of court:
What has Musk said about Tommy Robinson?
Musk, who was recently named as a special adviser by Trump, posted several times on his X account on Wednesday and Thursday, stating that Robinson, a notorious far-right activist who campaigns against immigration and Islam, “should be freed” from prison.
Free Tommy Robinson!@TRobinsonNewEra
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2025
In another post, he wrote: “Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth?”
Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth?
He should be freed and those who covered up this travesty should take his place in that cell. https://t.co/Dn48JLoJgR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 1, 2025
Who is Tommy Robinson and why is he in prison?
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson, 42, is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence after he admitted to contempt of court during a libel case involving a Syrian refugee schoolboy, Jamal Hijazi.
A video showing 15-year-old Hijazi being attacked by another teenager at a school in Almondbury, Yorkshire in northern England, went viral in the UK in October 2018.
Robinson posted videos on his Facebook account in response, claiming that Hijazi had attacked “young English girls” and threatened to stab a boy at school, allegations that Hijazi denied.
These videos, seen by nearly one million people, led to Hijazi and his family receiving death threats.
The High Court ruled in 2021 that Robinson had defamed Hijazi and ordered him to pay 100,000 pounds ($124,000) in damages. The judge also handed him an injunction which prevented him from repeating the claims.
However, in February 2023, Robinson began to repeat the claims and made a documentary which he posted on his X account claiming he had been “silenced by the state”. In July 2024, he showed this documentary to viewers in London’s Trafalgar Square.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Woolwich Crown Court in October 2024 after he admitted to violating the 2021 injunction.
His documentary, titled “Silenced”, is still up on X and has 146.2 million views as of Friday. It has been retweeted by about 101,000 people, including Musk.
Robinson was banned from X, then known as Twitter, in 2018. However, he was allowed to return to the platform in 2018 when Musk bought it. Robinson now has more than one million followers on X.
In the past, Robinson has been jailed for assault (2005)