Tommy Robinson guilty of harassing Daily Mail journalists via social media posts

Far-right activist Tommy Robinson was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of harassing two Daily Mail journalists. His posts on X drew millions of views and caused the journalists to fear violence.

Tommy Robinson convicted of harassing Daily Mail journalists in social media campaign

Tommy Robinson was found guilty on Wednesday of harassing two Daily Mail journalists, causing them to fear violence through a series of posts on X, direct messages and phone calls made over three days, The Independent reports.

The 43-year-old, whose legal name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, targeted journalists Jacob Dirnhuber and Andrew Young following the newspaper's coverage of him in Cyprus. Southwark Crown Court heard that his posts accumulated millions of views, with one image of Mr Dirnhuber outside his home attracting 4.8 million.

The campaign begins: 5 August

Prosecutors told the jury that Robinson's posts began on 5 August, described by the prosecution as "angry" and "retaliatory" in response to the Daily Mail's front-page headline "Stoking riots from his sunbed".

In a post viewed 244,000 times, Robinson wrote: "Quick question, these lies have a direct result on threats to my family. Is it ok if I track down the journalists addresses & families details & dox them. Would that be journalism."

He went on to address Dirnhuber directly: "By tomorrow I'll have every bit of information on the journalists who wrote these lies & endangered & caused fear to my children."

Around three hours later, Robinson sent direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber: "I'll be knocking at your door. Let your bosses know I'm coming to all of your houses."

While Robinson was posting publicly about "tracking" the journalists, Mr Young — still in Cyprus — received a phone call from Robinson. Prosecutor Ben Holt told the jury in his opening: "Mr Lennon became, in Mr Young's words, increasingly menacing. He raised his voice and was swearing and shouting. He said that he had been researching Mr Young's family and threatened to publish photographs of them and their addresses online." Holt added that Young believed Robinson said, "I'm coming to get you."

Address confirmed, posts escalate: 6 August

Robinson followed up his earlier direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber with a further message: "Okay got your address. We need to talk."

The following day he went public with a post, viewed 3.7 million times and still live during the trial, stating: "Don't worry I've already tracked each one of them. Let's see how they like being in my story."

On the evening of 6 August, Robinson published a series of posts containing images of the journalists' homes. The first, viewed 4.8 million times, showed Mr Dirnhuber outside his address and was accompanied by: "Got ya (Jacob Dirnhuber). This is Jacob, he likes to locate & endanger families. I got all 3 of you tagged & bagged in 1 day."

Minutes later, in a post viewed 350,000 times, Robinson published pictures of Mr Young's home alongside the comment: "I called them yesterday. They showed pictures of innocent people in their daily mail article. What's good for the goose is good for the gander."

Later that same evening, Robinson posted cropped photographs of Mr Young's wife, daughter and a vehicle on his driveway. That post, viewed one million times and still accessible on X at the time of the trial, read: "Hey (Jacob Dirnhuber) get your colleague Andrew Young to call me back, you see he published pictures of my family & gave away their location. I'm working on a news piece myself about all of you."

Five minutes after that final post on 6 August, Robinson sent further direct messages to Mr Dirnhuber: "Your bosses need to contact me Jacob. You've all endangered my children. I'll bring my questions to all of your doors."

Voicemail to editor-in-chief: 7 August

On 7 August, Robinson left a voicemail for the Daily Mail's editor-in-chief Ted Verity. The message, played to the jury during the trial, included the words: "I've already located every f****** one of you," and a warning that he would "make you famous and your families."

Robinson continued posting on X that day. In one post, viewed 228,000 times, he wrote: "They think they can dox & endanger children with zero consequences." Following that post, Mr Dirnhuber stopped checking his social media, the prosecution told the court.

Source: The Independent