TOMMY Robinson has today arrived in court as he faces two years in jail for contempt of court after live-streaming a video outside a child grooming court trial.
The EDL founder was this week found to have “encouraged mob rule” when he breached a reporting restriction over the case.
And Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, will today be sentenced at the Old Bailey, with City of London Police closing down surrounding roads.
A crowd of about 500 people have already started to gather outside the court, waving flags and placards as they chant “Oh Tommy, Tommy”.
They started waving their fists and celebrating as Robinson arrived in a shirt reading “Convicted of Journalist” with Katie Hopkins.
Passionate supporters also broke off to block off Fleet Street, with pictures showing one man being led away in an apparent arrest by cops.
It comes after Robinson’s supporters faced off with cops last week when he was found guilty of committing contempt of court.
The two-day hearing at the Old Bailey found the 36-year-old jeopardised the grooming trial by live-streaming men accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls on Facebook, in breach of a reporting ban, outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.
Giving reasons for the decision on Tuesday, Dame Victoria said Robinson encouraged “vigilante action” in the video, which lasted an hour-and-a-half and was viewed online 250,000 times on the morning of the broadcast.
The judge said the words he used in the video would have been understood by viewers as “an incitement” to harass the defendants and “gave rise to a real risk the course of justice would be seriously impeded”.
Throughout the Old Bailey hearing, Robinson denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not believe he was breaching reporting restrictions and only referred to information that was already in the public domain.
But Dame Victoria and Mr Justice Warby found he was in contempt by breaching the reporting restriction imposed on the trial, by live-streaming the video from outside the public entrance to the court and by “aggressively confronting and filming” some of the defendants.
And Robinson this week made a bizarre plea to Donald Trump to grant him asylum in the US.
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.
Robinson, from Luton, Bedfordshire, broadcast the footage while the jury in the second of a series of linked grooming trials was considering its verdict.
The video was eventually viewed 3.4 million times after being shared following his arrest.
A reporting restriction was in place which postponed the publication of any details of the case until the end of all the trials involving 29 people, in a bid to ensure all defendants received a fair trial.
Robinson was jailed for 13 months after being found in contempt of court on the day of the broadcast.
He served two months in jail before being freed after the original finding of contempt was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2018.
But the case was then referred back to the Attorney General, who announced in March that it was in the public interest to bring fresh proceedings against Robinson. Dame Victoria and Mr Justice Warby gave permission for the Attorney General to bring a new case against Robinson at a hearing in May.
Anyone found in contempt of court can be jailed for up to two years, receive an unlimited fine, or both.
