Daniel Thomas pleads not guilty after dinghy slashed
Daniel Thomas is accused of criminal damage after a video appeared to show him slashing at a dinghy.
Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas has pleaded not guilty after allegedly damaging a dinghy in the English Channel. The 37-year-old, known as Danny Tommo, was arrested after a video surfaced showing him slashing at the vessel with an emergency responder aboard. Thomas appeared via videolink at Basingstoke Magistrates Court in Hampshire, where he was also charged with not disclosing his phone's PIN.
He requested a crown court trial and was remanded in custody until his next hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court on September 29. Far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, also known as Tommy Robinson, was present in the public gallery, along with supporters who gathered outside the court. Hampshire police stated that an arrest occurred after a boat with an emergency responder was damaged in the Channel on Tuesday.
Demonstrators outside the investigation center in Basingstoke chanted "free DT" before dispersing around 9:45 PM after learning of Thomas' charges.
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