BREAKING NEWS: DAY TWO TOMMY ROBINSON TRIAL VERDICT IS GUILTY SENTENCING HEARING NEXT THURSDAY
The second and expected to be final day of Tommy Robinson's contempt trial for live streaming video outside a child sex abuse trial in May of 2018 in Leeds, England that involved Muslim defendants.
Ezra Levant of "Rebel Media" in Canada in London at the Old Bailey courtroom tweeting live.
The RT video feed from outside started at 4 am Eastern time, 9 am London time.
RT VIDEO FEED OUTSIDE OLD BAILEY IN LONDON-DAY TWO TOMMY ROBINSON
TRIAL
A Ruptly video feed started right before the afternoon session live....
RUPTLY VIDEO FEED
TRIAL
A Ruptly video feed started right before the afternoon session live....
RUPTLY VIDEO FEED
Additional video link:
EZRA LEVANT DAY TWO TOMMY ROBINSON TRIAL
The trial resumed this morning with Tommy Robinson in the witness box under questioning from prosecuting lawyer Andrew Caldecott.
As Tommy answered questions he was cautioned by one of the two judges, Dame Victoria Sharp, against "overanswering" the questions being asked of him.
The government lawyer repeatedly trying to ascertain how and when Tommy and those working with him in Leeds obtained information from a video screen in the courthouse. Information that Tommy said repeatedly did not alert him to a publication ban in the case. No information was on the screen that morning at the courthouse about that trial.
Before the lunch break, Robinson's lawyer Richard Furlong noted the four attempts Tommy Robinson made that day to ascertain whether a publication ban existed in the trial.
Both the prosecuting attorney and defense lawyer argued the case before the two judges in the case as the prosecutor Caldecott said the lack of mainstream media coverage of the trial should have told Robinson not to cover it.
But defense lawyer Furlong was able to show newspaper and BBC articles that named defendants in the case and charges against them in spite of any publication ban.
As he made his closing submissions (arguments), Furlong said that keeping juries from getting information from the media should be the emphasis in trials, not banning publication by the media of information about trials.
Resuming after the lunch break which ended at 9 am Eastern time, Mr. Furlong continued reading directly from a transcript of the May 25, 2018 live stream where Robinson said if there was a publication ban, he would abide by it. But at that time no information was made available to him or anyone else at the courthouse about such a ban.
In the transcript, Robinson said that he was only discussing "public domain" information about the case.
Supporters, in the hundreds at least, on the street outside the Old Bailey court building with police and barriers also present throughout the day.
As Furlong continued his arguments he said that anything Tommy Robinson said on the live stream was not prejudicial to the case in court, nothing was said that would give the defendants on trial grounds for an appeal of the verdicts in the case.
He noted that Robinson's conduct did not deter the rape trial defendants from entering court that day
and he noted that Tommy was trying to adhere to the rules as he understood them that day with the legal training he had received on publication bans and contempt of court.
In the end, his defense lawyer Mr. Furlong said that the actions of Tommy Robinson were within the law that day and any prejudice against Robinson the person must be separated from the facts of the case in rendering a judgement.
He said nothing that Tommy said that day on the live stream was in any way as contended by the prosecutor Mr. Caldecott to be inciting viewers to attack the defendants.
To illustrate a double standard, Furlong played a video for the court that shows aggressive members of the mainstream media confronting Tommy Robinson entering court to contrast with Robinson's milder treatment of the child sex abuse trial defendants entering the courthouse in Leeds.
"Rebel Media" reporter Ezra Levant noted in a tweet that the BBC reporter in the video blocking Tommy from getting into the courthouse and implying he was guilty was sitting just two seats away from him.
Furlong said showing the videos wasn't about criticizing the mainstream media as much as it was about asking how can Tommy Robinson be prosecuted for contempt of court for doing things in his live stream that did not approach the behavior of the mainstream media towards Tommy as he entered court.
By the way a major MSM talking point about the trial is the prosecution's contention that Robinson's live stream was "reckless".
Prosecuting lawyer Caldecott made a final point at around 315 pm and the judges then left the courtroom.
The word is that the parties will be notified when court will resume.
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