UK activist Tommy Robinson, who organised a huge far-right march in London last month, returned to court Monday for refusing to divulge his telephone pin number to counter-terrorism police in 2024.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, was met by a handful of supporters outside Westminster magistrates court in London.
The 42-year-old has denied a charge brought under Britain's Terrorism Act, under which a person who is detained can be held for up to six hours, and is legally obliged to answer questions and provide the password or pin for electronic devices.
He had been stopped in the southeastern port of Folkestone driving a silver Bentley that was not registered in his name, and found to have £13,000 ($17,300) as well as some 1,700 euros in cash.
He told police he was driving to Benidorm in Spain via the Channel Tunnel, but refused to provide police with his pin number because his mobile contained videos which he said related to his journalism work.
In a video posted on his X account Monday Robinson denounced the new court case as "state prosecution" and said he was grateful to US tech billionaire Elon Musk for picking up his legal bill.
Prosecutor Jo Morris said officers "became concerned" about the activist's behaviour in July 2024 when he drove into the police inspection area at Folkestone.
"He gave short, vague replies and made no eye contact," she said.
Robinson has become a champion for anti-immigrant factions, and drew some 150,000 people onto the streets of London in September for one of the country's largest ever far-right protests, which was addressed by Musk.
The former football hooligan, who founded the far-right English Defence League in 2009, has repeatedly been convicted for public order and contempt offences.
Robinson was only released from jail in May after spending seven months in prison for breaching a court order. He has also been blamed for helping to fuel racially aggravated riots that rocked the country in 2024, which he denies.
The "Unite the Kingdom" march, which he billed as a "free speech festival" came amid growing anti-immigration sentiment in the UK.
If Robinson is found guilty at the end of the two-day trial he faces up to three months in prison or a possible £2,500 fine.