On February 14, anti-Muslim activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, announced he fled the United Kingdom for the United States after claiming to be named in a “manual that goes out to every ISIS operative,” thereby making him a “target” for assassination by ISIS. Robinson has a long history of criminal activity, including violence, and his former organization, the English Defence League (EDL), earned the admiration of the neo-Nazi Norwegian mass shooter, who murdered 77 people in an attack fueled by Islamophobia.
These and other factors kept him out of the US previously, and it’s unclear why the administration has now let him in.
Robinson has used this opportunity in the US to make inroads with the Trump administration and those close to it, such as senior advisor at the US Agency for Global Media Kari Lake, and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2018 before receiving a pardon from Trump in 2020.
This isn’t the first time Robinson has attempted entry into the United States, but it is the first time he’s been successful given his disqualifying past. In 2013, Robinson was sentenced to 10 months in prison after illegally entering the United States while using someone else’s passport and skipping a mandatory second interview by customs officials. In 2018, Robinson failed to obtain a visa in time for an event run by the Middle East Forum, an American think-tank which traffics in Islamophobic and anti-migrant rhetoric. In 2019, Robinson also unsuccessfully pleaded with Donald Trump to grant him asylum against “jihad gangs” in the United Kingdom. This time, after a reported visa mishap, Robinson claims he was granted a visa after taking his passport to the US Embassy in London, mentioning Michael Flynn “played his part in helping [him] get to the United States,” although he did not elaborate further on the process.
Robinson has a worrying past of criminal and violent behavior that would normally disqualify him from entering the country. He was convicted of assaulting an off-duty police officer in 2005, serving a year in prison, and in 2011 received a twelve-month community order for inciting and taking part in a brawl at a soccer match. Robinson led the English Defence League (EDL), a far-right racist organization, whose supporters have been arrested for plots to bomb mosques, from 2009 to 2014. The EDL was also known for hosting “often violent demonstrations in towns and cities with visible Muslim communities.”
In 2015, Robinson was involved in developing the short-lived UK chapter of the German anti-Muslim group PEGIDA, which in Germany is responsible for a number of large protests against Muslims. In 2018, Robinson produced a libelous video accusing a young Syrian refugee of being a violent school bully, and in 2021 was ordered to pay £100,000 in damages and all reasonable legal costs to those he falsely accused. Robinson also was issued an injunction against releasing the video under threat of prison time. According to HOPE Not Hate, Robinson worked with MICE Media to complete a film with these libelous claims while denying his involvement in its release. In October 2021, Robinson was issued a five-year stalking protection order in favor of a journalist working on an article about his misuse of donations from his far-right supporters.
In 2022, he joined the anti-Muslim political party For Britain, making calls to “build a political force.” In November 2023, Robinson called for his supporters to defend the Cenotaph in Westminster, following rumors that pro-Palestine protesters could attack war memorials in London. This led to violent clashes with the police, while Robinson fled the scene. In June 2024, Robinson was arrested, and later released, in Calgary, Canada, on an “outstanding immigration warrant” after apparently lying on his visa application about his many criminal convictions, according to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. In September 2025, clashes at Robinson’s “Free Speech Festival,” which was an anti-immigrant protest turned Charlie Kirk memorial, left 26 police officers injured and led to 25 arrests.
Robinson’s rhetoric has connections to terrorist violence. One of his tweets was referenced in a note left behind by the 2017 Finsbury Park terror attacker, who in 2018 was convicted for driving a van into a crowd outside a mosque in London, killing one. The tweet asked his followers whether they should “look back in anger” at terror attacks, mocking the slogan of a vigil following a 2017 bombing in Manchester claimed by ISIS which took the lives of 22 people. The killer was also subscribed to Robinson’s mailing list, receiving materials suggesting that refugees were given preferential treatment by British police and that, “[t]here is a nation within a nation forming just beneath the surface of the UK. It is a nation built on hatred, on violence and on Islam.”
It is unclear how long Robinson plans to stay in the US, but he has made it clear that he will use the trip to “generate excitement” regarding his “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London, a far-right gathering Robinson has hosted for the past few years, set to take place on May 16, 2026. Since landing, Robinson has launched a “Tommy in USA” video campaign featuring Trump administration officials such as Kari Lake, former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, and far-right podcaster Tim Pool. White supremacist and other extremist groups such as the Miami Proud Boys have already signaled their excitement about Robinson’s arrival, saying “Tommy is here. The commies won’t be pleased.”
The Trump administration’s new immigration policy appears to target political dissidents while rewarding violent bigotry and those who support his policies. Last year, the Trump administration detained and attempted to deport pro-Palestinian protester Mahmoud Khalil, before a judge ordered his release. Similarly, Trump has also imposed visa bans on Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) CEO Imran Ahmed along with other Europeans involved with battling online disinformation and illegal content, such as hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Secretary of State Marco Rubio justified the move by accusing them of working to target American tech companies with burdensome regulations. Further, Rubio determined the presence of Ahmed and the others “had potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.” While Trump targets non-white migrants, he proclaims “white genocide” in South Africa, allowing white Afrikaner South Africans refugee status. He is now granting Tommy Robinson, who has spent his adult life involved with violence, hate, and legal issues, the ability to further his extremist agenda on American soil.
