Held in Trafalgar Square, the rally included speeches focused on mass immigration and patriotism, attracting a crowd of thousands that appeared to predominantly support the Reform Party.
The documentary covers a legal battle between Robinson and a Syrian boy, Jamal Hijazi. Hijazi was accused of physically threatening female students in his class in 2018 after video of another boy pouring water on Hijazi went viral online. The media covered the water getting poured on Hijazi as a racist incident against Syrian immigrants. Robinson was sued in 2021 for libel against the boy and ordered to pay damages to Hijazi. He was also prohibited from showing the documentary by the court.
Despite the court injunction prohibiting him from making claims about the case, Robinson defied the ban and played the documentary at the rally, resulting in impending legal consequences and an upcoming appearance before the High Court, according to the Daily Mail.
People from all over England came to the rally, including a Nigerian immigrant, who was holding a sign about why he loved England as well as a sign that said, "Tommy Robinson [is] a visionary leader." Despite labels from the media calling the rally “racist,” a black London photographer spoke highly of the rally as well as of Robinson as he attended the event.
“Today is going to be an amazing day,” the photographer said. “So many patriots are coming down here to ... Trafalgar Square to listen to the message that Tommy is putting out.”
When asked if he would come down to support “a racist,” the photographer responded, “I am being quite honest. I used to believe Tommy Robinson was a right-wing racist. That was the narrative I had been told for many years.” The photographer then said that after hearing Tommy explain his story, he thought that Tommy is a “patriot” and not a racist.
Dubbed "Uniting the Kingdom," thousands of participants marched from the Royal Courts of Justice to Trafalgar Square. The participants were seen waving English and UK flags and chanting slogans such as "England" and "Rule Britannia."
The Metropolitan Police were present in large numbers, with 1,000 officers deployed to maintain order and enforce restrictions on attendees. Despite their efforts to keep the opposing groups separated, nine arrests were made during the events. The police attempted to "keep the peace" between the various protests, ensuring that the demonstrations remained largely non-violent.
