British activist Tommy Robinson, who for years has been disparaging lax immigration policies that allow Islamic radicals into the U.K., was arrested today in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Ironically, Robinson was apparently arrested on a charge that he failed to truthfully answer a question on an electronic visa application about whether he had ever been arrested.
Robinson is in Canada doing a tour of podcasts in the nation. Robinson had just spoken at an event in Calgary, where he reportedly received a standing ovation, when a group of plainclothes officers handcuffed and detained him saying they had an arrest warrant against him. Rebel News captured the event and posted it to X.
Robinson had previously served a term at Onley Prison in Warwickshire, England, after he was found guilty of violating a gag order in an ongoing court case.
Robinson managed to record some of the car ride to the police station. He was told by one of the arresting officers that a warrant had been signed by an official of the Canada Border Services Agency.
“Isn’t it mad how tough you get with immigration on the wrong people,” Robinson told the arresting officers. “It’s mental, isn’t? You’re acting like absolute spineless cowards as a country letting every bloody goddamn f***ing ‘Abdul’ and whoever into your country, you don’t know nothing about them, their criminal histories or anything or their ideologies, and then you turn up [to arrest] me giving a talk at a seminar.”
The officer told Robinson that he was not allowed to comment on the arrest, but only fulfill his arrest order.
Robinson was later released, although his passport was taken from him and he was directed to stay in Calgary, which will interrupt his tour.
“I’m not even allowed to leave to travel home,” Robinson told followers.
One podcast he was scheduled to hit was that of Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, who reacted angrily to the news.
“Wake up Canadians,” Peterson posted on X. “The police are now being used directly as political agents of the state. I don’t know who ordered this but it’s not acceptable. You idiot lefties might be pleased about this in this situation. But don’t be thinking that once established this won’t be used against you.”
So, in a bizarre twist of fate, an anti-immigration crusader was arrested by Canadian authorities on an immigration-related crime. But, as Robinson pointed out, he had already been questioned by immigration (allegedly for three hours) on his entry into Canada. Why hadn’t the alleged mistake on his visa application surfaced then?
One of the arresting officers told Robinson something to the effect that he was just following orders. One wonders, in this case, just how high up those orders go. The authorities at the Canada Border Services Agency? Someone in Ottawa? Justin Trudeau himself?