Anti-Migrant Activist Pleads Not Guilty to Criminal Damage Charge
Daniel Thomas accused of slashing a dinghy in the English Channel with an emergency responder on board.
Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, 37, appeared before magistrates on charges of criminal damage and failing to disclose the PIN to his phone. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.
Thomas, known to supporters as Danny Tommo, was arrested after a video circulated that appeared to show him slashing at a dinghy in the English Channel while an emergency responder was on board. Hampshire Police confirmed an arrest was made following damage to a "boat that had an emergency responder on board" in the Channel.
Several hundred supporters gathered outside a police investigation center in Basingstoke on Thursday evening, anticipating Thomas's presence. Among those in the public gallery at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court, where Thomas appeared via videolink, was far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson. Some supporters also gathered outside the court.