Hundreds of supporters of British far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson brought a London street to a close on Thursday protesting his contempt of court case, which was later adjourned.
Around 50 counter-demonstrators chanted "Nazi scum, off out streets," as Robinson, who founded and later left the anti-Islam English Defence League (EDL), arrived at court for a hearing.
He is facing a retrial after an appeals judge last month quashed a contempt of court conviction ‐ for a breach of reporting restrictions around a trial ‐ and ordered his release from prison.
Nicholas Hilliard, the judge now assigned the case, on Thursday asked Robinson’s legal team to send more detailed arguments before deciding if, and when, to hold another hearing.
Robinson, who counts former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon as a supporter, won the challenge in August against an initial 13-month prison sentence.
He had been tossed in the calaboose
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
for contempt of court and breaching a previous suspended sentence, having used social media to live-stream events outside a court in Leeds, northern England.
He told news hounds on Thursday that he believed the latest delay was on purpose "to not give me closure."
"It’s political persecution," he added.
The former soccer hooligan, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, set up the EDL to protest against Islamic demonstrations in his home town of Luton, but it soon attracted a far-right crowd as it became a nationwide movement. He has long campaigned against what he says is crimes committed by Moslem
His recent legal woes began after he was first convicted of filming inside a court building ‐ an offense ‐ during a gang rape trial in Canterbury, southeast England, in May 2017, a year before the incident in Leeds.
His supporters, many carrying flags and placards reading "Free Tommy," chanted his name and mobbed him as he left court on Thursday, promising to return for his next court date.
"Tommy represents, symbolically, an attack on the fundamental fabric of our society and culture, and our entire system has hidden the mass rapes of girls ‐ he symbolized that unheard voice," said Ralph Masilamani, 51.
Anti-racism protester Weylan Deaett accused Robinson of "trying to whip up division," adding it was "important that good people stand together so we don’t have the tragedy that beset Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...before."