Britain First's Jayda Fransen appeals to Donald Trump to intervene in court case after he retweeted anti-Muslim videos

Deputy Leader of nationalist group Britain First Jayda Fransen asked the US president for legal help
Jayda Fransen / Twitter
Tom Powell29 November 2017

Britain First’s deputy leader Jayda Fransen has appealed to Donald Trump to intervene in her upcoming court case after the US president appeared to support her on Twitter.

Ms Fransen, 31, began by praising Mr Trump for retweeting three anti-Muslim videos which she had originally posted.

She is currently on bail facing trial over four charges of causing religiously aggravated harassment as part of a Kent Police investigation into the distribution of leaflets and the posting of online videos.

She will go on trial at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on January 29, alongside Britain First leader Paul Golding, who faces three similar charges.

In a Twitter video, Ms Fransen said: “This is a message to the President of the United States Donald Trump. I’d like to start by saying how delighted I am that, as the leader of the free world you took the time out to retweet three of my videos on Twitter today.”

She added: “On behalf of myself and every citizen of Britain and for everyone, every man and woman that has fought bled and died for us to have to have the freedom of speech, I am appealing to you for your help.

Backlash: Donald Trump sparked a huge backlash online after retweeting the anti-Islamic videos
Twitter

“I am appealing to you for your help, I am appealing for your intervention before I am thrown in jail and other receive the same treatment for simply speaking out. God bless you Donald Trump.”

Ms Fransen, from Penge, south-east London, was convicted last November of religiously aggravated harassment for hurling abuse at a Muslim woman in a hijab.

She was fined £2,000 at Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates' Court for wearing a political uniform and shouting at Sumayyah Sharpe during a "Christian patrol" of Bury Park in Luton on January 23.

The three anti-Islamic tweets that Mr Trump retweeted to his 43.6 million followers include footage of migrants allegedly assaulting a boy on crutches and a video purporting to show a Muslim damaging a statue of the Virgin Mary.

However, Dutch officials issued a statement correcting one of the anti-Muslim tweets which Ms Fransen labelled, "Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!".

A spokesperson for the Dutch public prosecution service said the aggressor was born and raised in the Netherlands, and that the records did not mention his religion.

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