# Jayda Fransen
**Jayda Fransen** is a British far-right political activist who served as deputy leader of [Britain First](https://www.edgepedia.org/britain-first), an anti-Islam and anti-immigration group, and became internationally known in November 2017 when US President Donald Trump retweeted three anti-Muslim videos from her Twitter account.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Role in Britain First | Deputy leader of the far-right group, which she joined alongside leader Paul Golding; she was credited with spearheading its social media campaign[1](https://www.timesofisrael.com/britain-first-from-far-right-fringes-to-trumps-twitter-account/) |
| Trump retweets | On 29 November 2017, Trump retweeted three anti-Muslim videos she had posted, to his roughly 43.6 million followers[2](https://time.com/5040626/trump-britain-first-muslim-video-retweet/) |
| 2016 conviction | Found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment for hurling abuse at a Muslim woman who was with her four children[3](https://time.com/5040627/britain-first-trump-tweet/) |
| Electoral result | Contested the Rochester and Strood parliamentary by-election in 2014, polling 56 votes (0.1%)[4](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen) |
| Platform bans | Twitter suspended her account in December 2017; Facebook removed the pages of Britain First and its leaders in March 2018 for repeated hate speech violations[5](https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/19/twitter-finally-boots-hate-group-that-trump-retweeted-off-its-platform/) • [6](https://www.axios.com/2018/03/14/facebook-britain-first-fransen-trump-islam-hate-speech) |
| Later politics | Left Britain First in 2019 and founded the British Freedom Party in 2021[7](https://fightingmonarch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/britain-first-report-2022-06-final.pdf) • [8](https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/205925/140141963.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1) |
## Role in Britain First
Britain First was formed in 2011 by disgruntled former members of the far-right [British National Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-national-party), and describes itself as a political party and a street defense organization opposed to what it calls radical Islam[2](https://time.com/5040626/trump-britain-first-muslim-video-retweet/). Fransen, a trained lawyer and former recruitment consultant, served as its deputy leader under [Paul Golding](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-golding) and was credited with spearheading the group's social media campaign[1](https://www.timesofisrael.com/britain-first-from-far-right-fringes-to-trumps-twitter-account/). A 2015 BBC3 documentary, *We Want Our Country Back*, about the rise of Britain First, made her its central figure, describing her as the only female deputy leader of a far-right British party[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/we-want-our-country-back-bbc3-review-britain-first-s-unsavoury-political-tactics-are-to-be-admired-a6684516.html).
Her public activity centered on inflammatory online content and direct action. The group's tactics included so-called "Christian patrols" through areas with Muslim populations and forcing entry into mosques to distribute propaganda[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/trump-britain-first-jayda-fransen-who-is-twitter-retweets-facebook-group-explained-bio-a8082076.html). In August 2016, Golding and Fransen were banned from entering Luton and, later, all mosques and Islamic centers in [England and Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/england-and-wales)[7](https://fightingmonarch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/britain-first-report-2022-06-final.pdf).
The group's online reach far exceeded its real-world size. Behind 1.9 million Facebook likes and 27,000 Twitter followers stood a party estimated at about 800 members with negligible electoral prospects[4](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen). Fransen herself contested the Rochester and Strood by-election in 2014 and received 56 votes, 0.1% of the total[4](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen).
## The Trump retweets
On 29 November 2017, Donald Trump retweeted three unverified anti-Muslim videos Fransen had posted, with captions including "Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!", "VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!", and "VIDEO: Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!"[3](https://time.com/5040627/britain-first-trump-tweet/). The videos reached his roughly 43.6 million followers[2](https://time.com/5040626/trump-britain-first-muslim-video-retweet/). Fransen responded on Twitter with "GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS YOU AMERICA!"[3](https://time.com/5040627/britain-first-trump-tweet/).
The posts were shorn of context, and at least one was inaccurate: the video purporting to show a Muslim migrant beating a Dutch boy actually showed one Dutch boy attacking another, according to officials in the Dutch town where it was filmed[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/trump-britain-first-jayda-fransen-who-is-twitter-retweets-facebook-group-explained-bio-a8082076.html) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen).
The retweets drew condemnation from across the British political spectrum. Prime Minister Theresa May said UK citizens "overwhelmingly reject" the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right[11](https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/british-leaders-condemn-trumps-anti-muslim-retweets-1513307252). Brendan Cox, whose wife, the MP Jo Cox, was killed by a far-right extremist in 2016, said the president was attempting to legitimize the far right in Britain[10](https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/trump-britain-first-jayda-fransen-who-is-twitter-retweets-facebook-group-explained-bio-a8082076.html). The Guardian noted that the retweets gave the group's digital [Islamophobia](https://www.edgepedia.org/islamophobia) an endorsement its leaders could not have anticipated[4](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen).
## Legal issues and platform bans
Fransen had already been convicted in 2016 of religiously aggravated harassment for hurling abuse at a Muslim woman who was with her four children[3](https://time.com/5040627/britain-first-trump-tweet/). In 2017 she and Golding were charged with religiously aggravated harassment over online videos and leaflet distribution in Kent, and she was separately charged over a speech at a Northern Ireland Against Terrorism rally in Belfast that August[2](https://time.com/5040626/trump-britain-first-muslim-video-retweet/) • [4](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen). In March 2019, the BBC reported her conviction for hate speech offenses[12](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1152684/The_Bloom_Review.pdf).
[Social media](https://www.edgepedia.org/social-media) platforms moved against her accounts. Twitter suspended the accounts of Britain First, Golding, and Fransen in December 2017 as part of a crackdown on hate speech[5](https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/19/twitter-finally-boots-hate-group-that-trump-retweeted-off-its-platform/). In March 2018, Facebook removed the pages of the group and of both leaders after they repeatedly violated its policies against hate speech[6](https://www.axios.com/2018/03/14/facebook-britain-first-fransen-trump-islam-hate-speech).
## Departure from Britain First and later activity
After what one report describes as a tumultuous 2018, Fransen left Britain First in January 2019[7](https://fightingmonarch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/britain-first-report-2022-06-final.pdf); the UK government's Bloom Review of 2023 records her as deputy leader until July 2019[12](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1152684/The_Bloom_Review.pdf).
In May 2021, during the [Scottish Parliament](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-parliament) election campaign, SNP leader [Nicola Sturgeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicola-sturgeon) confronted Fransen on the streets of her Glasgow Southside constituency, calling her a "fascist" and, after Fransen made derogatory comments about the Scottish government's welcoming of people from overseas, a "racist"[13](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/06/you-are-a-racist-sturgeon-clashes-with-ex-britain-first-deputy). Fransen later broke away to found her own party, the British Freedom Party, in 2021, which she leads and which uses religious justifications for far-right narratives[8](https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/205925/140141963.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1).
## References
1. [Britain First: From far-right fringes to Trump's Twitter account, The Times of Israel (AFP)](https://www.timesofisrael.com/britain-first-from-far-right-fringes-to-trumps-twitter-account/)
2. [President Trump Retweeted Anti-Muslim Videos Posted by Far-Right Group 'Britain First', TIME](https://time.com/5040626/trump-britain-first-muslim-video-retweet/)
3. [3 Things to Know About Britain First, the Far-Right Group President Trump Retweeted, TIME](https://time.com/5040627/britain-first-trump-tweet/)
4. [Britain First: behind the online curtain is a minute, incoherent party, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/01/britain-first-minute-incoherent-party-paul-golding-jayda-fransen)
5. [Twitter finally boots hate group that Trump retweeted off its platform, TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/19/twitter-finally-boots-hate-group-that-trump-retweeted-off-its-platform/)
6. [Facebook removes Britain First for hate speech, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2018/03/14/facebook-britain-first-fransen-trump-islam-hate-speech)
7. [Britain First: Dysfunctional, Dangerous and In Our Communities (2022 report)](https://fightingmonarch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/britain-first-report-2022-06-final.pdf)
8. [Charles University thesis on far-right parties in Europe](https://dspace.cuni.cz/bitstream/handle/20.500.11956/205925/140141963.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1)
9. [We Want Our Country Back, BBC3, review, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/we-want-our-country-back-bbc3-review-britain-first-s-unsavoury-political-tactics-are-to-be-admired-a6684516.html)
10. [Britain First: What is the group that Trump retweeted, and who is Jayda Fransen?, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/trump-britain-first-jayda-fransen-who-is-twitter-retweets-facebook-group-explained-bio-a8082076.html)
11. [British leaders condemn Trump's anti-Muslim retweets, Axios](https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/british-leaders-condemn-trumps-anti-muslim-retweets-1513307252)
12. [The Bloom Review, UK Government (2023)](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1152684/The_Bloom_Review.pdf)
13. ['You are a racist': Sturgeon clashes with ex-Britain First deputy, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/06/you-are-a-racist-sturgeon-clashes-with-ex-britain-first-deputy)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Political systems and ideas › Political ideologies › Fascism and anti-fascism › Fascism by country › Fascism in Britain and Ireland*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license