Conservative activist Laura Loomer publicly urged President Donald Trump to grant U.S. asylum to British far-right figure Tommy Robinson on Thursday morning, after he visited the U.S. Department of State.
Her call came after Robinson was pictured with a senior department advisor, Joe Rittenhouse, in a post on social media on Wednesday.
“Tommy Robinson is a hero,” Loomer posted. “He should be granted asylum in the US. He is a true political refugee, jailed for speaking truth about Islam in the UK.”
A State Department spokesperson told Newsweek that Robinson had visited the department on a tour in an unofficial capacity.
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Robinson via email on Thursday morning
Why it Matters
Robinson rose to prominence as a founder of the English Defence League and has been convicted in the U.K., including for contempt of court in 2019, making any potential U.S. immigration or asylum bid likely to draw scrutiny under American law. The Trump administration has also largely halted the U.S. asylum program, over claims it has been widely abused in recent years.
What To Know
Calls for U.S. asylum would face legal and diplomatic hurdles; criminal history and findings that an individual disrupted court proceedings can be weighed adversely in immigration and asylum adjudications under U.S. law.
Robinson co-founded the English Defence League in 2009, a group known for anti-Islam protests across Britain. Alongside his contempt of court conviction in 2019, he faced prior convictions, including for mortgage fraud in 2014, which could all stand in the way of a potential asylum bid.
He has been widely criticized in the U.K. for anti-Islam rhetoric and for statements that authorities and watchdogs said risked inflaming tensions, drawing rebukes that accompanied the legal actions against him over the years.
Robinson more recently drew attention in 2025 as London saw a large far-right rally linked to him, which led to clashes and arrests. He then claimed a few weeks ago that he had left the U.K. for his own safety, after he was named in a publication reportedly linked to the so-called Islamic State, which encouraged violence toward him.
What Is Tommy Robinson’s Real Name?
Tommy Robinson is the pseudonym of Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, who has also used other aliases during his public life, including Paul Harris at times, according to U.K. reporting Yaxley-Lennon adopted the name Tommy Robinson in the late 2000s as he became active in street protest movements, most notably the EDL.
Why Is Tommy Robinson Visiting the State Department
While the State Department did not publish a readout naming Robinson among official visitors, Rittenhouse’s post showed photos of Robinson inside the department, as well as a selfie of the pair outside.
That post, and Robinson’s own on X, drew attention from both supporters and critics, with U.K. Member of Parliament Emily Thornberry, chair of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, telling Politico that Robinson should not be considered a “free speech warrior”.
The topic of free speech continues to be hotly debated in the U.K. and the U.S., with the former being criticized by the Trump administration—alongside other European countries—for its approach to restricting hate speech. Meanwhile, in the U.S., where the First Amendment grants different protections around free speech, the Trump administration has been criticized for denying visas to those it sees as having opposing views to the current White House.
What People Are Saying
Joe Rittenhouse, a State Department advisor, on X Wednesday: “Honored to have free speech warrior [Tommy Robinson] at Department of State today. The World and the West is a better place when we fight for freedom of speech and no one has been on the front lines more than Tommy. Good to see you my friend!”
MP Emily Thornberry, speaking to Politico: “Yaxley- Lennon is being touted around Washington as a ‘free speech warrior.’ We need to engage this administration on the difference between that and incitement to violence and racial hatred. There should be no place in any democracy for the latter.”
What Happens Next
Any asylum request by Robinson would require formal filing and adjudication under U.S. law, where criminal history and prior court findings could be weighed; there is no public record of a filed U.S. asylum case for Robinson currently.
