Far-right British leader Trump retweeted found guilty of hate crimes

The leader of a far-right British political group who was retweeted by President Trump has been found guilty of hate crimes.

Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, was found guilty on three counts of religiously aggravated harassment, BBC News reported Wednesday. Britain First leader Paul Golding was found guilty on one count.

Fransen and Golding were found guilty for posting videos during a gang rape trial, where three Muslim men and a teenager were convicted. They filmed themselves targeting people they believed were connected to that case and released the videos on social media and the party’s website.

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Fransen and Golding were arrested in May after hanging offensive posters and mailing leaflets to residents in the area. Both denied the charges. 

Judge Justin Barron said that Fransen and Golding “demonstrated hostility” toward Muslims by their actions and called it “a campaign to draw attention to the race, religion and immigrant background of the defendants,” according to the BBC. 

Trump sparked controversy in November after he retweeted a video from Fransen that purported to show Muslims carrying out acts of violence against people and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary.

British Prime Minister Theresa May criticized Trump for the tweet, and London’s mayor urged authorities to cancel a planned visit.

The White House defended Trump, saying he did not know about the far-right group when he retweeted Fransen. The White House said Trump was highlighting the need for a discussion on immigration and national security.

But Trump also fired back at May, urging her to focus on fighting terror threats in Britain.

The Twitter accounts of Fransen and Golding and their party were suspended after the November controversy.