Anti-migrant activist Daniel Thomas, who is known to his supporters as Danny Tommo, has been formally charged with criminal damage following an incident in the English Channel. The 37-year-old also faces a charge for failing to disclose the PIN to his mobile phone, according to Hampshire Police. He has been remanded in custody and is scheduled to appear at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court via videolink this Friday.
The charges follow a police investigation into live-streamed footage that appeared to show Thomas slashing at a dinghy. Hampshire Police confirmed they had been examining the video, which documented the incident on Tuesday. At the time of the encounter, a French coastguard official was on board the vessel. Reports indicate that approximately 50 migrants, who had traveled from Normandy, had already been transferred to RNLI lifeboats before being moved to a UK Border Force vessel for processing in Dover.
Addressing the legal developments, Chris Derrick, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Wessex, stated that prosecutors had determined there was sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and that pursuing the proceedings was in the public interest. He further emphasized that the proceedings are active and the defendant is entitled to a fair trial.
On Thursday evening, a crowd of several hundred people gathered outside a police investigation centre in Basingstoke, where they believed Thomas was being held. The demonstration, which remained peaceful, lasted from shortly before 18:30 BST until approximately 21:45 BST. Protesters chanted slogans such as "free DT" and "we want our Danny back," dispersing only after learning that the charges had been officially brought against Thomas.
