A British far-right agitator was found guilty in London on Wednesday of harassing two journalists and causing a fear of violence.
The man, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson, was charged last year with harassing the two journalists, Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber, who both worked for The Daily Mail at the time. Mr. Robinson denied the charges.
He will be sentenced on Dec. 16, according to the judge overseeing the case.
The charges date to August 2024, when anti-immigration riots broke out in Britain in the wake of a stabbing attack that killed three girls and injured eight others at a dance class in northwest England. In the hours afterward, misinformation about the attacker, including false claims that he was a Muslim immigrant, spread rapidly on social media. The attacker was, in fact, a British citizen, born in Wales to Christian parents originally from Rwanda.
Mr. Robinson posted repeatedly about the attack and the riots on social media platforms, including on Telegram and on X. He said the rioters were “justified in their anger” and wrote: “Get there and show your support. People need to rise up.”
During the riots, mosques and accommodation housing asylum seekers were attacked and dozens of police officers were injured.
On Aug. 5, 2024, The Daily Mail published a front-page story revealing that Mr. Robinson was posting messages from a luxury resort in Cyprus. The headline read: “Stoking Race Riots From His Sunbed” and was illustrated with a photograph of Mr. Robinson on a sun lounger. The article included a photo of his ex-wife and references to his children, who were traveling with him.
Mr. Robinson told the court that after the article was published, he had hired private investigators to find and photograph the two journalists and their families, in order to “put pressure” on them.
He said that he was upset by the publishing of images of his family and of details that identified their vacation, which he said made him feel “desperate.” He said threats were made online against his daughter that made him feel “sick.”
Mr. Young and Mr. Dirnhuber gave testimony during the trial about threats and harassment they received from Mr. Robinson and his supporters on social media, in phone calls and in voice messages.
An expletive-laden voice mail that was left on the phone of Ted Verity, The Daily Mail’s editor, was played in court, in which Mr. Robinson said he had located the journalists.
“I’m not threatening you with violence or anything like that,” he said. “What I’m promising you is I’ll make you famous and your families because that’s what you’ve done to me.”
Ben Holt, the prosecutor, said Mr. Robinson had used “bully boy” intimidation tactics and had circulated images of the journalists’ homes to millions of followers on social media.
“He chose to frighten them, arrange for individuals to go to their addresses,” Mr. Holt said, adding that Mr. Robinson’s supporters had also threatened the journalists. “Understandably, you might agree, they were scared; in some circumstances, being forced to leave their homes.”
In a statement read to the court, Mr. Dirnhuber said that he and his partner had had to leave their home for a week in the face of a deluge of threats after Mr. Robinson published a photo of their house on X.
Mr. Dirnhuber said Mr. Robinson had sent him direct messages on X, including one saying “I’ll be knocking at your door.”
Mr. Young, in his statement that was read to the court, said that he had received a call from a man who introduced himself as Mr. Robinson and who was “increasingly menacing, swearing and shouting,” adding: “I believe he said the words ‘I’m coming to get you.’”
Mr. Robinson recited his home address over the phone, Mr. Young said. Mr. Young’s daughter told him that a suspicious car had been parked outside their home that day, with a man sitting inside.
A police officer was assigned to provide security to Mr. Young’s family after they received the intimidating messages, the prosecution said.
Mr. Robinson’s defense lawyer argued in court that the interactions with the journalists did not amount to harassment and that Mr. Robinson had not intended to expose the two to threats of violence.
Outside the courtroom before the start of his trial, Mr. Robinson was asked by a reporter if Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, was supporting his defense. Mr. Robinson replied: “Yes.”
Mr. Robinson had previously posted on X thanking Mr. Musk for funding his case, and said his court fees had amounted to 400,000 pounds, about $445,000. Mr. Musk could not be reached for comment.
In 2025, Mr. Musk appeared by video link at a mass protest in London organized by Mr. Robinson, where the tech executive called the left “the party of murder” and urged protesters to “fight back.”
Mr. Robinson was the founder of the now-defunct English Defence League, an anti-Muslim group known for violent street protests in the late 2000s. More recently, he has become one of the most prominent anti-immigrant voices in Britain.
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