- Tommy Robinson, also known as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was arrested in Calgary, Canada, on an outstanding immigration warrant after speaking at an event.
- Robinson has a history of legal issues, including a successful libel suit against him by Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi.
Tommy Robinson was apprehended in Canada last night due to an ‘outstanding immigration warrant’ following his participation in an event. Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, appears to have been detained by law enforcement outside the Carriage House Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary.
Video footage captured the far-right extremist being led away in handcuffs by a team of police officers as he protested that the arrest was ‘absolutely insane’.
He could be heard inquiring of an officer: ‘What have I got a warrant out for?’ The officer responded: ‘You’ve got an outstanding immigration warrant, we’ll discuss it in the vehicle.’
Robinson was subsequently placed in a vehicle and transported away. It appears the 41-year-old was later released, yet he claims to now be prohibited from leaving Calgary.
The English Defence League founder later tweeted: ‘OK I’m free, well sort of. None of this makes sense, I’m now detained in Calgary, prevented from leaving the city.
‘These conditions stop me from continuing my tour of Canada and meeting with guests for podcasts. I’m not even allowed to leave to travel home.’
Robinson had been speaking at an event titled ‘An Evening with Tommy Robinson,’ organized by the far-right media website Rebel News and its founder Ezra Levant.
General admission tickets were CA$50 (£29), while a ‘VIP’ package including a ‘meet and greet’ with Robinson was available for CA$250 (£144).
In 2021, Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi successfully sued Robinson after the then-schoolboy was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.
After a clip of the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims, including allegations about Mr. Hijazi attacking girls in his school, leading to the libel case. Following Mr. Hijazi’s successful libel claim, Mr. Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay him damages and legal costs, as well as an injunction preventing Robinson from reiterating the allegations he made against the then-teenager.
In August 2022, Robinson was fined £900 for failing to appear at a High Court hearing to be questioned about his finances related to pre-trial costs in the case of approximately £43,000.
Robinson was previously incarcerated after being found in contempt of court for filming men accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls and live-streaming the footage on Facebook, in violation of a reporting ban, outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018. He was sentenced to 13 months in jail after being found in contempt of court on the day of the broadcast but served just two months before being freed after that finding of contempt was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2018. The case was then referred back to the Attorney General, and he was jailed again in July 2019.
