The British establishment has long sought to put Tommy Robinson away. The independent journalist has, after all, spent decades raising hell about the fallout of mass migration, the detachment of British elites, the failure of multiculturalism in England, the threats posed by radical Islam, and the cover-up of the Pakistani rape-gang scandal.

Once again, Robinson is facing the prospect of prison; however, this time around, the world's richest man appears to be in his corner.

On July 28, 2024 — a day after organizing a political rally slightly smaller than the historic, 100,000-strong "Unite the Kingdom" march that he led on Sept. 13 of this year — Robinson was detained by Kent police under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act while attempting to travel to Spain, where he now lives.

Robinson was charged with "frustrating" police's counterterrorism powers by allegedly refusing to give them access to his phone, which police confiscated at the time of his detention, Sky News reported.

Under the Terrorism Act, detainees are required to provide law enforcement with access to their mobile device.

Robinson allegedly told police, "Not a chance, bruv. ... You look like a c**t, so you ain't having it," adding that his phone contained sensitive "journalist material" regarding "vulnerable girls."

In a video statement on Monday, Robinson said, "Just imagine that I am facing terrorism charges under terrorism legislation because I didn't want to give the state my sources of information as a journalist — and not one single journalist has commented on that in the U.K."

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Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Mitchell Thorogood, the arresting officer who apparently recognized Robinson ahead of pulling Robinson over, told the Westminster magistrate's court this week that he stopped Robinson as he attempted to enter the Channel Tunnel in a friend's car partly because the vehicle was not Robinson's, the BBC reported.

Thorogood suggested further that he pulled Robinson over because he thought it "unusual" for someone to drive a luxury car alone from Britain to Spain.

'It's an attack against me based on my political view, nothing else.'

Sky News indicated that Alisdair Williamson, Robinson's lawyer, characterized the counterterror stop as a "fishing expedition," and told the court that Robinson was targeted based to a "significant degree on a protected characteristic," namely his right-wing political views.

"We say it is obvious," Williamson said. "He was stopped unlawfully, detained unlawfully for 40 minutes, and asked questions that were something to do with his political beliefs."

Robinson told reporters outside the courthouse this week that the arresting officer "absolutely did not follow his protocol, did not follow the law. This is a total abuse of the legal system. It's an attack against me based on my political view, nothing else. There was no suspicion of terrorism, no suspicion of a crime. ... I'm now in court for being Tommy Robinson."

Jo Morris, the prosecutor in the case, claimed that the officer was justified in questioning Robinson on account of his "notoriety for associating with far-right activists."

If convicted, Robinson — who has pleaded not guilty and is presently in Israel at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's invitation — could face several months in prison and/or receive a $3,355.80 fine. The trial is set to conclude on Nov. 4.

Robinson claimed on Monday that Elon Musk was financially helping with his legal defense.

The beleaguered journalist's team claimed in a statement earlier this year that Musk was providing support for Robinson in this case as well as for his unsuccessful legal challenge earlier this year over his prolonged solitary confinement in prison.

"Why is Tommy Robinson in a solitary confinement prison for telling the truth? He should be freed and those who covered up this travesty should take his place in that cell," Musk tweeted on January 1. Four days later, he tweeted, "Once again: FREE TOMMY ROBINSON NOW."

Blaze News has reached out to Robinson and Musk for comment.

Daisy Cooper, a leftist lawmaker who serves as deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats in parliament, demanded on Wednesday that MI5, the United Kingdom's domestic counterintelligence and security agency, to investigate Musk, even though the Guardian indicated that Musk has yet to provide them with confirmation that he is in fact covering the bill.

"On Monday, the far-right, racist hate-preacher Tommy Robinson, who is currently on trial for allegedly refusing to comply with counterterror police, claimed that his legal costs are being paid by Elon Musk," Cooper said. "It is outrageous that a man who has so much control over what people read online every day could be funding someone who stokes far-right extremism on our streets. If this was Putin, the government surely would act."

"So will the prime minister commission the Security Services to assess the threat that Elon Musk poses to our democracy and recommend measures to this house that we can take to stop it?" Cooper said to Britain's liberal prime minister, Keir Starmer.

"I can tell her we do look across the board at threats to our democracy and must continue to do so," Starmer replied, according to the National. "I won't comment on the particular case given the state of legal proceedings."

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