LONDON — Tommy Robinson, the founder of the far-right group English Defense League (EDL), acknowledged in court on Monday that he had disobeyed a legal order that prohibited him from making defamatory statements about a Syrian refugee.

During a session at Woolwich Crown Court, Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, confessed to breaching the court’s ruling multiple times through interviews shared on YouTube, as well as in a video he streamed during a rally at Trafalgar Square in London this past July, which was also uploaded to his X account.

At 41 years old, Robinson has established himself as a significant figure within Britain’s far-right movement. Just last Saturday, numerous supporters gathered in central London for a Unite the Kingdom rally he had organized, although he was unable to attend due to his incarceration.

He faces criticism for inciting protests that escalated into a week of violent unrest throughout England and Northern Ireland earlier this summer. This turmoil was sparked by erroneous social media posts that misidentified the perpetrator behind a knife attack that resulted in the deaths of three young girls in Southport as an immigrant and Muslim.

Robinson has a history of legal troubles, including previous imprisonments for offenses such as assault, contempt of court, and mortgage fraud.

After being banned from Twitter in 2018, he was reinstated following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform, which has since been rebranded as X. Robinson currently boasts a follower count of one million on the platform.