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A violent threat directed at Prime Minister Keir Starmer was amplified by Britain’s most prominent far-right agitator, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (alias ‘Tommy Robinson’), to his millions of online followers.
On Sunday, following the reported death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, X owner Elon Musk posted the phrase: “Another one bites the dust” on the social media platform.
In a direct reply to Musk’s post, former US Republican candidate and influencer Valentina Gomez wrote: “@Keir_Starmer is next.” Robinson subsequently reposted Gomez’s tweet to his 1.9 million followers.
By sharing a post that explicitly names the sitting UK Prime Minister as the “next” target in the context of the US-Israeli joint operation to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader, Robinson appeared to amplify incitement to violence.
On the same day, Robinson published another post demanding authorities “Arrest & deport @Keir_Starmer,” quoting a video of a refugee to justify his demands against the Prime Minister.
State Department Access and Russian Disinformation
This amplification of threats against the British state occurred during Robinson’s highly controversial tour of the United States. Under standard immigration rules, Robinson’s extensive criminal record would normally bar him from entry. Robinson has several criminal convictions including for assault and mortgage fraud. In 2024, he was jailed for 18 months after admitting contempt of court by repeating false claims against a Syrian refugee.
Yet, not only was he permitted into the US, he was welcomed by the US State Department.
Robinson’s primary conduit into the highest levels of the US government appears to be Joe Rittenhouse, a MAGA propagandist acting within the administration as a senior advisor. Rittenhouse’s network is deeply controversial; he recently appeared to facilitate the return to the US of the founders of Tenet Media, a right-wing outlet exposed for receiving funding from Russian state media to disseminate Kremlin disinformation.
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The Gold Institute and Election Deniers
Robinson’s US tour has embedded him within a well-funded network of convicted criminals and election deniers. Byline Times can confirm Robinson attended an “Election Integrity Summit” sponsored by the Gold Institute for International Strategy at the end of February.
The institute is chaired by disgraced former US National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, who was pardoned by Donald Trump after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI regarding his Russian contacts.
The summit was also attended by Patrick Byrne, a millionaire architect of the movement to overturn the 2020 US election. Byrne’s presence is highly significant to UK domestic security: Byline Times has previously exposed that Byrne helped finance Robinson in the run-up to the Southport riots.
The meeting included several Trump administration officials, including Kurt Olsen, a White House lawyer charged with reinvestigating the 2020 election, and Heather Honey, the Department of Homeland Security official in charge of election integrity.
Insurrectionists and Trump-Russia Operatives
Robinson also used his US trip to build content and connections with figures tied to the 6 January Capitol attack and Russian disinformation networks.
Prior to the summit, Robinson interviewed Brian Gamble – a QAnon promoter, close Flynn associate and chief information officer at Patrick Byrne’s America Project – who was an early participant in the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol. Robinson also met and interviewed former Trump aide Roger Stone, the veteran political operative who was convicted of obstructing the US Congressional investigation into Trump-Russia collusion. Although sentenced to 40 months in jail, he was pardoned by Trump and did not serve prison time.
Robinson’s recent activities outline a stark trajectory. Having been legitimised by elements of the US State Department and embraced by a transatlantic network of election deniers and Russia-linked operatives, Robinson now appears to be openly inciting and promoting violence against Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Byline Times has approached the Metropolitan Police, No. 10 Downing Street and the State Department regarding the threats amplified by Robinson. Stephen Yaxley-Lennon was also contacted for comment via his platform Urban Scoop.