Elon Musk has called for the release of far-right British activist Tommy Robinson.
The X owner tweeted on Thursday morning (02/01) that authorities should free Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – from solitary confinement, suggesting he had been locked up for “telling the truth”.
Robinson was jailed for 18 months last October after he admitted to breaching a court order by screening a documentary which contained libellous claims about a Syrian refugee schoolboy.
Musk – a key donor to and ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump – said a deeply controversial documentary made by the English Defense League co-founder was “worth watching” and shared it with his more than 210 million followers on X.
He then shared a tweet from the X account ‘Inevitable West’, which is known for sharing mistruths and antagonistic material.
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It’s just the latest intervention by Musk in British politics.
The tech billionaire has been involved in an ongoing feud with the governing Labour Party since it took office last year.
He’s branded the UK a “tyrannical police state,” and claimed “civil war is inevitable” as violence swept the country over the summer.
Musk’s endorsement of Robinson is also potentially awkward for Nigel Farage, the insurgent Reform UK leader whose right-wing populist party has tried to distance itself from the more fringe elements of the right in the U.K.
Musk has openly expressed support for Farage’s party and held talks with him at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in December.
Related: Farage says Musk will help Reform win youth vote ‘because he’s cool and wears a bomber jacket’