Latest news with #contemptOfCourt
Associated Press
29-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Judge considers whether Florida's attorney general should be held in contempt over immigration law
MIAMI (AP) — A federal judge was considering Thursday whether Florida's attorney general disobeyed her order prohibiting the enforcement of a new state law making it a misdemeanor for people in the U.S. illegally to enter Florida, and whether he should be held in contempt and sanctioned. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams specified in her ruling last month that her temporary restraining order against enforcing the Florida law applied to all of the state's local law enforcement agencies. The Miami judge later noted that there was a substantial likelihood that the Florida law would be found unconstitutional. But Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent out an April 23 letter to Florida's law enforcement agencies saying that he couldn't prevent law enforcement officers from enforcing the law 'where there remains no judicial order that properly restrains you from doing so.' 'As set forth in the brief my office filed today, it is my view that no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida's new illegal entry and reentry laws,' Florida's attorney general said in the letter. Dozens of people, including a U.S. citizen, have been arrested under the law. Uthmeier has appealed the judge's order to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. In court papers, Uthmeier said that he was merely notifying local law enforcement agencies in the April 23 letter that he had filed a court brief that held a legal view disagreeing with the judge's order. He had obeyed the judge's order by notifying local law enforcement agencies in an April 18 letter that they couldn't enforce the law while the court case proceeded, according to Uthmeier's court filings. 'There is no basis for contempt or sanctions,' Uthmeier said. 'Interpreting an order to prohibit a state attorney general from disagreeing with a federal order — while following it — would also be an extraordinary, first-of-its-kind assertion of federal judicial power, implicating grave constitutional concerns.' But attorneys for an immigrants rights groups that challenged the Florida law said it was unacceptable that the Florida attorney general's April 23 letter 'encouraged arrests that he fully understood were specifically prohibited.' Even if Uthmeier's arguments are taken at face value, that he was merely stating his legal position, he has done nothing to clear up the confusion despite given ample opportunities, said lawyers for the Florida Immigrant Coalition. They said the options the judge could consider include financial sanctions and referring Uthmeier's conduct to the Florida Bar for disciplinary proceedings or to federal authorities for prosecution. 'Considered objectively and in the context of the earlier letter, the Attorney General's second letter plainly undermined the notice he was directed to provide, and invited arrests which he knew would be violations of this court's order,' the immigrants rights' lawyers said in court papers. 'That is quintessential contempt of court.' ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @
Al Jazeera
27-05-2025
- General
- Al Jazeera
Far-right figure Tommy Robinson released early from UK prison
British far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson has been freed from prison after winning his plea for early release. The anti-Islam campaigner, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, walked out of HMP Woodhill in Buckinghamshire on Tuesday after a high court cut his 18-month sentence by four months. The 42-year-old was imprisoned in October 2024 for contempt of court after admitting he had violated an injunction by repeating false claims about a Syrian schoolboy. The injunction had been imposed after Robinson lost a high-profile libel case brought by Jamal Hijazi, a Syrian refugee assaulted at his school in Huddersfield in 2018. A video of the attack went viral, after which Robinson posted a series of defamatory statements online. He was later ordered to pay £100,000 ($124,000) in damages and legal costs. Following his release, he addressed followers for 20 minutes via his X account, sporting a scraggly beard, long hair and a rosary. He thanked X owner Elon Musk and slammed the British government in a video titled 'Tommy freed from prison' posted on his social media. Robinson had originally been scheduled for release in late July, but applied to the High Court to purge his contempt order. The court heard he had committed 10 breaches of the injunction. These included promoting a film titled Silenced, which featured the debunked claims, and screening the same film at a central London rally last year. In a decision last week, Justice Johnson acknowledged Robinson's lack of remorse at the time of sentencing but noted a 'change in attitude' since. 'He has given an assurance that he will comply with the injunction in the future [and] that he has no intention of breaching it again,' the judge said. The civil proceedings were brought by the solicitor general, who argued Robinson had deliberately defied the injunction by authorising and distributing the film, as well as reiterating the allegations during multiple interviews in 2023. Despite the sentence reduction, Justice Johnson warned that any future violations could result in a prison term of up to two years. Robinson remains a polarising figure in the UK, known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric, and repeated legal confrontations tied to his political activism. He has been blamed for helping prompt the country's worst riots in years in 2024, which he denies. He has also found backing from American billionaire Musk, who earlier this year campaigned to free the far-right activist from prison.
Telegraph
27-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Tommy Robinson released from prison
Tommy Robinson, the far-Right activist, has been released from prison after serving a jail term for the civil offence of contempt of court. The 42-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, left HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes on Tuesday after his 18-month sentence was reduced by four months at the High Court last week. He was filmed speaking on his X social media channel for around 20 minutes. He had longer hair than previously, and a bushy beard, and was wearing a rosary around his neck. Robinson said that he will organise a free speech festival in London for supporters later in the year. He was jailed in October after admitting multiple breaches of an injunction made in 2021, which barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee schoolboy who had successfully sued him for libel. Silenced, Robinson's film about the case, was pinned to the top of his profile on X throughout his imprisonment, but has now been taken down. He is currently facing two further, separate court cases, and is due to appear at Westminster magistrates' court on June 5 accused of harassing two journalists. Robinson is charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence between August 5 and 7 2024. He is also facing a separate trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the Pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent Police in Folkestone in July 2024.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Tommy Robinson released from prison after sentence reduced
Far-right political activist Tommy Robinson has been released from prison after serving a jail term for the civil offence of contempt of court. The 42-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, left HMP Woodhill, Buckinghamshire, on Tuesday after his 18-month sentence was reduced by four months at the High Court last week. He was filmed speaking on his X social media channel for around 20 minutes with longer hair and a bushy beard, and wearing a rosary around his neck. Robinson said he will organise a free speech festival in London for supporters later in the year. The activist was jailed in October after admitting multiple breaches of an injunction made in 2021, which barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tommy Robinson released from prison after sentence reduced
Political activist Tommy Robinson has been released from prison after serving a jail term for the civil offence of contempt of court. The 42-year-old, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, left HMP Woodhill on Tuesday after his 18-month sentence was reduced by four months at the High Court last week. He was filmed speaking on his X social media channel for around 20 minutes with longer hair and a bushy beard, and wearing a rosary around his neck. Robinson said he will organise a free speech festival in London for supporters later in the year. The activist was jailed in October after admitting multiple breaches of an injunction made in 2021, which barred him from repeating false allegations against a Syrian refugee who successfully sued him for libel. He is currently facing two further, separate court cases, and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on June 5 accused of harassing two journalists. Robinson was charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence between August 5 and 7 2024. He is also facing a separate trial in October next year over an accusation that he failed to provide the Pin for his mobile phone when stopped by Kent Police in Folkestone in July 2024.
