Jayda Fransen: Britain First leader appeals to Trump for legal help after he retweets her
'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'
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Your support makes all the difference.The deputy leader of for right extremist group Britain First, has appealed to Donald Trump for help with her upcoming court case.
Jayda Fransen praised the US president for retweeting a series of inflammatory videos from her Twitter account.
The first claimed to show a Muslim migrant attacking a man on crutches, although Dutch officials later confirmed that the aggressor was born and raised in the Netherlands. This was followed by two more videos of people Ms Fransen claimed to be Muslim.
Ms Fransen used the social media site to post a video message to the US leader.
“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,” the 31-year-old said.
She went on to appeal for Mr Trump’s help with her upcoming court case.
She has been charged by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) with using “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour”, over speeches she made in Belfast at “Northern Ireland Against Terrorism” rally in August. She is due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on 14 December.
Ms Fransen said Mr Trump had “shed light” on her ”plight here in Britain, in that I am facing prison for giving a speech in which I criticised Islam.”
She added: “This is evidence that Britain has become Sharia compliant and our establishment has now instituted legislation that constitutes blasphemy laws here in the UK. 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.
“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.”
Mr Trump’s decision to share the tweets was widely criticised.
Theresa May‘s spokesman said Britain First used “hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions”, while Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn called the retweets “abhorrent” and “dangerous”.
The Archbishop of Canterbury also called on Mr Trump to remove his retweets.
Justin Welby took to social media to criticise the group, who he described as “not sharing our values of tolerance and solidarity”.
However, The White House defended the unverified, Islamophobic videos and said Mr Trump was driving home an important point – regardless of if they are real or not.
“Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real,” Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. “His goal is to promote strong border security and strong national security.”
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