LONDON, Oct 26 (Reuters) - British anti-Islam activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, was on Wednesday convicted of harassing two journalists during nationwide rioting two years ago.
Robinson said before his trial began that billionaire X owner Elon Musk, who often reposts Robinson and allowed him to return to the social media platform, was supporting his defence.
Musk also last year paid for Robinson's defence when he was charged with failing to provide his phone PIN to police, for which he was cleared by a judge, and Musk virtually attended a rally in London organised by Robinson last year.
Robinson – who stood trial at London's Southwark Crown Court under the name Stephen Lennon – was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence, relating to messages and calls to two Daily Mail journalists in 2024.
After three young girls were murdered in the northern town of Southport that July, Robinson repeatedly posted about the killings as riots spread across Britain.
The Daily Mail tracked Robinson down to Cyprus, where he was on holiday with his family, and published a story which accused him of "stoking race riots from his sunbed".
Robinson repeatedly contacted two journalists involved in the story, posted several messages about them on X and said he had photos of their home address and family.
Robinson claimed he had only intended to put pressure on the journalists and the Daily Mail to remove a picture of his ex-wife from their website.
But he was found guilty by a 10-2 majority on Wednesday and released on bail ahead of his sentencing in December.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James)
