The deputy leader of the far-right group Britain First has been released on bail after appearing in court in Belfast charged over comments about Islam posted on social media.
Jayda Fransen, 31, was charged with threatening behaviour over remarks made earlier this week beside a peace wall dividing Catholics from Protestants in the city.
The comments were posted on social media on Wednesday. The video post said it was shot in the staunchly unionist Shankill area of west Belfast. The post was critical of Islam.
Fransen was bailed after a short hearing before a district judge in Belfast magistrates court on Friday. Police objected to her release.
A diplomatic row erupted between the UK and the US this month after the US president, Donald Trump, retweeted videos posted on Twitter by Fransen. The UK prime minister, Theresa May, criticised Trump for sharing the far-right group’s propaganda. “I am very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do,” she said at the time.
Fransen, from Anerley in south-east London, was arrested at the same court on Thursday, having appeared on a charge related to other remarks she made at a Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally in the city in August.
Britain First’s leader, Paul Golding, 35, was also arrested at the court on Thursday as he accompanied Fransen. He was later charged with using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour during a speech he made at the same Belfast rally in August.
Golding was bailed to appear in the same court next month and Fransen will also appear before that court again next month.
Fransen winked and raised her fist in the dock after bail was granted. Around a dozen supporters clapped and cheered in the public gallery.
A police officer had objected to bail, claiming Fransen would commit similar offences to the one she was charged with if released. He said Fransen had made comments urging people to “rise up and take action now” against the “Islamic ideology”.
He raised concerns that similar comments could lead to attacks on Muslims. The judge, Fiona Bagnall, said she acknowledged his concerns but would apply bail conditions to mitigate that risk.
Fransen has been prevented from going within 500 metres of any demonstration or procession in Northern Ireland – the same condition applied when she appeared on the August charge on Thursday.
“We’ll see if bail terms work,” the judge told the court. “If they don’t work, she’ll be brought back to court and she will be in custody.”