Monday, January 07, 2013

Tommy Robinson Gets Ten Months

Free Tommy Robinson banner

Tommy Robinson, the leader of the English Defence League, appeared in court today on a charge of using a fake passport to enter the USA last September 11. He pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to ten months in jail.

There are several British MSM reports on today’s events, but as far as I could tell, up until now there was nothing in the media about Tommy’s arrest, denial of bail, and imprisonment without charge.

A further note: ten months is more than many offenders receive in the UK after being convicted of rape, assault, and other violent crimes.

Here’s the report from the BBC:

EDL leader Stephen Lennon jailed for false passport offence

The leader of the English Defence League has been jailed for 10 months for using someone else’s passport to travel to the USA.

Stephen Lennon, 30, from Luton, admitted possession of a false identity document with improper intention.

Lennon used a passport in the name of Andrew McMaster to board a Virgin Atlantic flight from Heathrow to New York, Southwark Crown Court was told.

He entered the US illegally then used his own passport to return to the UK.

Lennon had previously been refused entry to the US and used a friend’s passport to travel to the country in September.

He used a self check-in kiosk to board the flight at Heathrow and was allowed through when the document was checked in the bag-drop area.

But when Lennon arrived at New York’s JFK Airport, customs officials took his fingerprints and realised he was not travelling on his own passport.

Lennon was asked to attend a second interview but managed to leave the airport, entering the US illegally.

Previous convictions

He stayed one night and travelled back to the UK the following day using his own legitimate passport, which bears the name of Paul Harris.

Judge Alistair McCreath told him: “I am going to sentence you under the name of Stephen Lennon although I suspect that is not actually your true name, in the sense that it is not the name that appears on your passport.

“What I have to deal with you for is clear enough. You knew perfectly well that you were not welcome in the United States.

“You knew that because you tried before and you had not got in, and you knew the reason for that - because, rightly or wrongly, the US authorities do not welcome people in their country who have convictions of the kind that you have.

“With that full knowledge, you equipped yourself with a passport. I am told that it was given you by way of a loan from your friend Andrew McMaster, to which you bore, I am told, some resemblance.”

The judge added: “What you did went absolutely to the heart of the immigration controls that the United States are entitled to have.

“It’s not in any sense trivial.”

In mitigation, Lennon’s barrister Giles Cockings told the court the passport was not stolen and his client had only used it for a day.

Lennon was jailed for assault in 2005 and also has convictions for drugs offences and public order offences, the court heard.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wasn't he also charged with this:

EDL leader among six hit with fraud charges | Bedfordshire Local News, Local News Headlines in Bedford | Bedfordshire Newspaper Online

??

Anonymous said...

Last time I checked these EDL folks were thugs and racists, THE ONE TIME the "racist" smear actually was valid. He was the jump-the-shark moment of Pam Geller, sadly. She lot her reputation when she started associating with these people - especially after she acknowledged (posts since deleted I believe) that there was plenty of anti-semitism in the EDL.

Anonymous said...

With all due respect, while I empathise wholeheartedly with Robinson's plight -- he should not have used a counterfeit passport.
It never ceases to amaze me frankly, how people of such high profile, like Robinson, fail to realise that their actions, subject to far greater scrutiny than others', invariably taint the entire anti/counter-Jihad community; something which requires far greater, more sagacious diligence on their part.
His travel-ban to the US could've been utilised in his favour: a fatal breach of civil liberties; a mild-mannered, innocuous, tempered man(Robinson) is denied entry, for a speaking tour, while mosques around the country use -- as you have yourself documented -- hate-preachers from abroad without any limitations.
It could've energised sensible people to support Robinson further; in this instance, everybody loses.
--Dan

Stogie said...

Hey Anonymous, why don't you reveal your online name? You are totally wrong. The EDL has never been racist AT ALL. Pam Geller lost her reputation by asserting that the EDL was "fascist" based solely on the charges of one nutcase woman that they kicked out (because she supports a convicted, jailed and violent Israeli). This woman was the head of the Jewish faction of EDL and a buddy of Geller's. To cover her forced departure, the woman claimed that she had voluntarily left the EDL because of "facism," without any proof or any particulars. She lied.

Geller never documented any anti-semitism in the EDL (indeed, she cannot) and it is obvious that her great "proclamation" was an attempt to take over the anti-jihad movement in Great Britain.

In short, your charges are utterly bogus.

Anonymous said...

Remember Rhea Page? Her attackers got 6-month suspended sentences for an unprovoked, racially motivated attack. We are witnessing the ethnic cleansing of England.

Ex-Dissident said...

This battle won't be won with such passivity. These laws are applied punitively and only to some of the populace. His restriction from entry into the US was itself illegitimate political persecution. Tommy should organize a protest march right up the Queens palace. If police chose to club some of the population, they should be sent fleeing for their lives. Only then will the establishment treat the EDL with some respect. These authorities don't deserve the respect they are currently enjoying. Trying to resolve this passively will not work; as the old saying goes - can't have your cake and eat it.

William Gruff said...

How odd. We in the 'U'K cannot deport foreigners who have committed very serious crimes here because they may face some sort of legal action, perhaps not unjustified, in their homelands. We can, however, imprison our own people, for longer periods than some serious criminals, if they have committed a not terribly serious immigration offence abroad, even though they may have committed no offence here.

Had Robinson/Lennon/Harris/Whoever he is been detained in the USA and sentenced to ten months imprisonment that would have been fair enough, assuming that he had been given a fair trial (I mean no criticism of US justice by that, I would add the same rider to comments about all judicial systems, even that of the 'U'K), however, it is not obvious that he has committed any offence here. Was some sort of deal done to placate the US authorities, undoubtedly still smarting from the refusal of the British government to hand over Gary McKinnon?

Americans tend to become disproportionately angry when foreigners commit even minor transgressions against them and the US authorities would certainly wish to punish Robertson/Lennon etc. for his impudence. Their difficulty lies in his being back in England and his offence not really sufficient to justify extradition, which people here regard as a disgracefully unilateral arrangement, and therefore an issue which is politically sensitive.

It's just a thought, and truth is often stranger than fiction.

William Gruff said...

Anonymous 11:56: Whatever you thought was the case the last time you checked, the law applies to everyone equally and must be applied fairly and without favour. It is not a bludgeon with which to silence those we disagree with or disapprove of.

Anonymous said...

I never saw one mention of his arrest in the MSM.Not a word, more than strange for such a high profile individual. Makes one wonder if there was some kind of pressure applied.
I used to admire him, especially the way he was prepared to confront the enemy in "their own backyard" and the way he handled the Paxo interview commands respect.
But what a berk! He must have known the authorities were out to get him, and he played right into their hands. That stupid impulsive move will cost him dear and cause a lot of damage to the cause.
Paris Claims

Anonymous said...

EDL is a protest group, Anon of 11:56, and came into existence as a
reaction to returning soldiers from the Iraqi and Afghan conflicts, getting spat on and attacked by Moslems as the soldiers paraded through Wooton Basset. It came out of Luton where some of the suicide bombers came from. It comprised a lot of Luton Town football supporters.
Where did you get the idea that they were violent or racist ? They are PATRIOTS, a concept that you possibly fail to understand.

Anonymous said...

Nothing but a Show trial and an attempt to beat him into submission.

My bet is that British authorities now have an even more fierce opponent.

Anonymous said...

If EDL were racists, why is it there are photos of non-white people at EDL demos? http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.174572482560529.40860.132236756794102&type=3

The media take such photos but never show them, never report on the fact that such people are there. And you can be sure that if non-white people were being attacked at the demos, then the media would have reported it! So, clearly there are not only non-white supporters, but such supporters are perfectly safe.

Why would one of the original leaders of EDL have been an asian, if EDL was a racist organisation? He didn't stand down because of any problems in EDL - he stood down because other sikhs gave him and his family so much trouble.

Some asian journalists (hostile to EDL) have gone along to EDL demos, and even reported, to their surprise they were not attacked and did not receive any racist abuse. http://liberalconspiracy.org/2011/02/05/hanging-out-in-the-midst-of-the-edl/

A gay asian friend of mine went to an EDL demo alone, with a rainbow flag. On his return I asked him if had any problems. He said "no-one seemed to notice me".

That's my experience of EDL demos too. Most EDL don't even bother to take photos of the non-white people on the demos. Race is not an issue to them.

Anonymous said...

Anon:2

ASIA FOR THE ASIANS, AFRICA FOR THE AFRICANS, WHITE COUNTRIES FOR EVERYBODY!

Everybody says there is this RACE problem. Everybody says this RACE problem will be solved when the third world pours into EVERY white country and ONLY into white countries.

The Netherlands and Belgium are just as crowded as Japan or Taiwan, but nobody says Japan or Taiwan will solve this RACE problem by bringing in millions of third worlders and quote assimilating unquote with them.

Everybody says the final solution to this RACE problem is for EVERY white country and ONLY white countries to “assimilate,” i.e., intermarry, with all those non-whites.

What if I said there was this RACE problem and this RACE problem would be solved only if hundreds of millions of non-blacks were brought into EVERY black country and ONLY into black countries?

How long would it take anyone to realize I’m not talking about a RACE problem. I am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?

And how long would it take any sane black man to notice this and what kind of psycho black man wouldn’t object to this?

But if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide against my race, the white race, Liberals and respectable conservatives agree that I am a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews.

They say they are anti-racist. What they are is anti-white.

Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white.

Multiculturalism is a code word for Anti-white.

Anonymous said...

This is why as things stand, The UK has no voice against islam. The article in the Daily Mail on Lennon's conviction proves the point. It's not the article itself, which is typical of all the MSM over here. It's the comments. You can feel the frustration of the DM readers.
The harshness of the sentence is proof of how the powers that be treat anybody who raises their voice about islam.

There are too many skeletons in the cupboards of the EDL.
Perhaps that's the real reason why Paul Weston left The British Freedom Party. A very vulnerable underbelly.

Yet islamists are cossetted and allowed to nurture and expand their poison.

I honestly can't see any change on the horizon. Bleaker times are coming in Europe.

Ben.

Anonymous said...

Link to the Daily Mail article.
Read the comments and see how the people feel without representation.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2258407/Leader-far-right-English-Defence-League-jailed-10-months-using-elses-passport-U-S.html

Ben.

Robert Marchenoir said...

While it's incredibly shocking to hear a British judge do the United States' bidding, how on earth could Tommy Robinson be foolish enough to think he could get away from using another man's passport to enter America ?

Doesn't he know that American authorities are incredibly fastidious as far as immigration rules are concerned ? Doesn't he know that American authorities positively hate being lied to, and will pursue you with a vengeance if you do ?

And now, we learn that Tommy Robinson has not two different names, but three ? Who is this guy, exactly ? Why were we not told before ?

Is he Paul Harris ? Stephen Lennon ? Or Tommy Robinson ? He has just been through a trial, and the judge himself says he's not sure yet what his real name is ?

I mean, this guy is asking for political support from the public. And not only political support. I have donated money to contribute to his defence. I think I have a right to know who he is.

Anonymous said...

Race is not an issue to them.

Yeah, more's the pity. If only it were, we might actually get somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Anomymous at 2.11 pm

The troops who were spat at were marching through Luton not Wootton Bassett.

Ivan Winters

Fjordman said...

I still think it was a bad choice by Tommy Robinson to travel with non-authentic documents. This is illegal no matter how you twist it. The British authorities set a trap for him, and he willingly walked right into it. That being said, the way they have treated this case is beyond ridiculous and clearly political. If anything, he should have been prosecuted by American authorities, not British ones.

We are witnessing a new wave of politicized policing, with Britain being one of the worst countries. In October 2012, the police harassed critics of Islam in the three largest countries in Western Europe, Britain, France and Germany. I would not be surprised if this had been coordinated at a pan-European level since cracking down on critics of Islam and mass immigration has been high on the EU's agenda for a long time.

It's also interesting to notice that they in this case targeted specifically groups that have staged street protests in real life, not just in cyberspace. Such groups are clearly viewed as the greatest threat to the ruling elites.

Fjordman said...

It is, unfortunately, highly likely that this political repression will grow worse in the years to come, as the economy deteriorates and the influx of immigrants unsettles Western societies more and more. In my case, the police went into my flat and confiscated everything they wanted to without presenting any charges, having any proof of me having done anything illegal, no court order and no warrant. They simply decided that they wanted to confiscate everything they liked, no other pretext needed. Now, this was after Breivik's attacks and might be seen as an exceptional situation, but it does illustrate a disturbing trend throughout the Western world where critics of Islam and mass immigration gradually have their legal rights suspended.

Britain is really, really bad in this regard, possibly one of the worst countries in the entire Western world. I won't use the term "police state" lightly, but the way British authorities have treated the EDL does smack of police state tactics. The silence of the British public to these injustices is disappointing and disturbing. Is Britain already a broken nation? Have the Multiculturalists succeeded where the Nazis failed, and broken the spirit of what once was a proud European nation?

Morani ya Simba said...

He should definitely NOT have entered the US using a counterfeit passport. And he did commit a fairly minor offense against the UK by abusing a UK identity document (passports legally remain the property of the issuing state which makes sense b/c otherwise ppl cannot be prevented from lending it to others). But why is the UK so busy enforcing US law? For one thing, it erodes the rule of law when states start to claim "universal jurisdiction" and secondly, it is part of the UK's poodle syndrome regarding the US. Does anyone seriously believe US authorities are as busy enforcing UK law as the other way around or that extraditions from the US to the UK are as vigoursly pursued by the former (what about a host of old bloody IRA hands for example???)

And the sentence is bizarrely harsh. He did violate the laws of both countries but not in any serious way. The US has perhaps 11 million illegal immigrants. Last I heard, TR was the only one of them to leave after 1 day....

Anonymous said...

I'm very disappointed. Who on earth could be so daft as to do such a thing?! And for what purpose? Why was there a need to use a false passport? And why didn't Tommy or any of his associates see the danger of doing such a thing?

Anonymous said...

Hmm...

People travelling with fake documents and passports are normally granted political asylum (on humanitarian grounds) in the EU area. Does this verdict handed down by a British judge signal a change in official policies in such cases?

Travel to the EU on fake passport, or enter any non-EU country with fake travel documents before arriving in Europe and you’ll receive a ten month prison sentence??

The Observer

Anonymous said...

Mmmm. Maybe I was a bit too hard on Tommy Robinson (see the previous comment) - but he should have known better. However, it's interesting that Tommy should receive a custodial sentence for his indiscretion whereas illegal immigrants get the red carpet treatment.

Has Britain ever jailed an illegal immigrant?

Wulf Kurtoglu said...

Tommy Robinson reminds me very much of Lech Walesa - a true man of the people, but not really fitted to make the transition to a political career, and liable to be left stranded. But a maker of history, nevertheless.

Linda Rivera said...

I am in utter HORROR that "ten months is more than many offenders receive in the UK after being convicted of rape, assault, and other violent crimes."

This is despicable and EVIL. UK ruling elites have NO MERCY whatsoever for victims of violent crimes, yet give Tommy ten months jail. What dirty HYPOCRITES.

DEATH SENTENCE FOR ALL RAPISTS IN ALL COUNTRIES!

Every rape is a kidnap. The victim has been seized and stolen. In the Bible, our Merciful God gave the DEATH SENTENCE for kidnapping which prevents the filth predator from every again kidnapping an innocent:

Bible, Exodus 21:16 He who kidnaps a man, whether he sells him or he is found in his possession, shall surely be put to death.

Anonymous said...

Tommy Robinson used this unorthodox means of entry into the USA solely because he had been invited as a speaker at the 9/11 memorial by Pamela Geller and desperately wanted to show his solidarity with the American people in their anguish. He was particularly keen on this occasion not to suffer the same outcome as in 2011 when he was detained at the airport and returned home. Phoebe

Ex-Dissident said...

Some of comments focus on how Tommy could possibly think that he would get away with using a friend's passport to enter the U.S. The truth of the matter, is that he did enter US precisely in this manner. He left the country using his own passport, and therefore abused no laws while entering the UK. Some people site immigration law. OK, did Tommy immigrate to the US and remains here as an illegal alien? No he doesn't. It is clear that his trip was to attend a rally and having attended it, he is gone. I suppose that a court could throw the book at me for going through a stop sign too quickly, but at some point one has to ask the question: Why is the stop sign there. If there are no other cars at an intersection, then what crime is committed by a car that breaks, checks the intersection of other cars and continues on its way?

Anyway, what was the crime Tommy committed? Illegal immigration? Seriously? He immigrated to the US?

The laws are not equally enforced and are used to politically harass certain groups. However, will not win this fight by focusing on who observes the state laws and who doesn't.

At some point, passive resistance will have to give way to active violence. I see no other course.

Nocturna said...

To those obsessing over raaaacism OMG!! I will say that there is NO way any Western country will ever extract itself from the immigration death-grip they are now in without a strong ethnic nationalism movement. That is the reality. There is no other way. Islam never has and never will belong in the West. Islam is alien to us. Alwsys will be.

Dave said...

I'm going to enjoy watching england burn at the hand of the invaders. She deserves it, abandoning her history and capitulating to the scourge of society. Too bad the politicians (probably) won't suffer the fate they so richly deserve.
I do feel for the ones opposing the invasion, but c'est la vie.

Red Rose said...

All of the above comments plus the report of Tommy Robinson's trial and sentence indicate that Julian Assange (Wikileaks) is wise to remain holed-up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

The fascist UK government and its toadying minions - police force, the judiciary, local councils and bureaucrats etc. - cannot be trusted. Neither can America in Julian Assange's case.

Anonymous said...

Did most of you fail to read the article? He used the McMaster passport to get on the flight in the UK. Had he used his own passport in London and then presented the other passport in the USA, then it would have been the USA's problem. He also had to have used the passport to purchase the tickets. And unless the passport was reported lost or stolen, it would seem that McMaster should be on trial as well.

My question is, how did the USA have McMaster's fingerprints? Did the USA have them from a previous entry by McMaster? Were they passed by the UK because McMaster's name was on the manifest? Or did the USA have them for some other reason?

Lavinia said...

"I'm very disappointed. Who on earth could be so daft as to do such a thing?! And for what purpose? Why was there a need to use a false passport? And why didn't Tommy or any of his associates see the danger of doing such a thing?"

It's obvious. Stephen Lennon/Paul Harris/Tommy Robinson is a paid martyr. And a father! He has three children.

Anonymous said...

I am very sad to say that my worst fears are being realised. It seems that there will now be no peaceful resolution nor meaningful dialogue between the UK government, and the EDL.

We passed the point of no return. I now anticipate armed resistance by the EDL at some point in the not-too-distant future.

Really sad, and this coming from someone who witnessed the horrors of the Irish "Troubles"...

Anonymous said...

There probably has been a dialogue or more likely a diatribe from the
Government to EDL leadership to basically go away and die.Tommy may be in the process of neutralising himself, Weston has got cold feet, and Carrol is not capable of holding it all together A pity really because the the street activities were beginning to to get at TPTB.The real problem is getting people to REALLY commit themselves to the cause, which means, like it or not, the excuse ' oh I have got a family, I can't take the risk ' is totally useless and invalid.

Anonymous said...

Every White country is being flooded with other races in the name of "diversity", "multiculturalism" and a slew of other code words for "too many White people"

The media talks about some sort of "race problem" and their solution
is always the same, increase "diversity" and “multiculturalism”

We never hear them say that these "race problems" will be solved by flooding any non-White country with other races

Diversity is a code word for White Genocide.
Anti-racist is a code word for anti-White.
http://whitegenocideproject.com