US rightwing groups bankroll campaign to free Tommy Robinson

A rightwing American thinktank that spent a five-figure sum on Tommy Robinson’s legal defence has said it is aware of up to four other similar organisations bankrolling a high-profile campaign to release him.

The Middle East Forum has also paid for foreign speakers to attend “Free Tommy” rallies in the UK in addition to funding the far-right activist’s court defence.

Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has hired a prominent criminal barrister who has previously defended high-profile celebrities to appeal against a 13-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

Outrage around the perceived injustice of Robinson’s plight has led to US rightwing groups converging to support him, while a diplomat representing Donald Trump has reportedly lobbied the British ambassador on Robinson’s behalf.

“We are focused on ensuring that there can be a robust discussion of the pros and cons of different elements of Islamic thought in western liberal democracies,” said Gregg Roman, a director of the organisation that previously financed anti-Islam Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

The Middle East Forum said it had provided support for people in 90 cases across the world including Austria, Canada and New Zealand. “It’s not that we agree with Robinson’s views, but we do defend his right to articulate them,” Roman said.

Roman disagreed with the characterisation of Robinson’s crime – he was jailed for contempt of court after live-streaming a report of a trial – and claimed his case highlighted issues around freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Roman said the group would continue to support Robinson: “We’re always open to continuing to support his defence so long as he needs it. At the same time, other bodies are raising funds for his defence. We are aware of three to four other groups and there is also a Tommy Robinson Defence Fund.”

Daniel Pipes, the founder of the Middle East Forum, said his goal was to get Robinson “freed from prison and out of legal trouble”.

The neoconservative academic was the first to make the unfounded claim that there were “no-go” zones in predominantly Muslim areas in Europe. This claim was subsequently repeated by the US president, who reportedly raised it in a private dinner with Theresa May, who promptly corrected him.

“The term ‘Islamophobic’ is applied to anyone critical of Islamism, including myself, and is a meaningless slur,” Pipes said, referring to allegations of Islamophobia he has faced.

Hope Not Hate, a UK-based anti-racist advocacy group, said people needed to “wake up to the threat posed by these powerful and monied far-right figures” who were “determined to stoke conflict and division”.

“US funding for criminal lowlife Tommy Robinson is no surprise,” said a spokesperson. “We are witnessing the emergence of a new internationalised far right: propelled by deep antipathy towards Muslims.

“Many of those people lionising ‘Tommy’ now probably have little or no idea of the reach and influence of the money behind their man, but Stephen Lennon has long-received support from a coterie of notorious anti-Muslim extremists in the US and elsewhere.

“We need to wake up to the threat posed by these powerful and monied far-right figures, who – with newfound confidence under Donald Trump’s presidency, and under the leadership of Steve Bannon – are determined to stoke conflict and division across Europe.”

Last week, Bannon defended Robinson, saying he was not “a bad guy” as he called for his release from prison on LBC radio.

Following his interview with the Breitbart founder, the radio station’s political editor, Theo Usherwood, claimed Bannon said to him off-air: “Fuck you. Don’t you fucking say you’re calling me out. You fucking liberal elite. Tommy Robinson is the backbone of this country.”

It came after last weekend’s “Free Tommy” protest in London that was attended by the Republican congressman Paul Gosar, far-right Belgian politician Filip Dewinter, former Breitbart UK editor Raheem Kassam and the Ukip leader, Gerard Batten.

At a counter-protest, a union leader was left bloodied after what he called an unprovoked attack at the hands of Robinson supporters.