Reginald D Hunter appears in court over alleged antisemitic communications
The Campaign Against Antisemitism has brought a private prosecution against the comedian
Reginald D Hunter has appeared in court after a private prosecution brought against him by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, with the comedian being accused of three offences under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.
Hunter, 56, appeared at Westminster Magistrate’s Court yesterday, having failed to appear at a first hearing in late May. He confirmed his personal details, and was told that he would need to return for a hearing on 14 November, at which time it would be decided whether the private prosecution would be going forward.
Hunter is alleged to have sent both a computer-generated sexual image and antisemitic messages via Twitter last year to Heidi Bachram, a counter-antisemitism activist.
The comedian, who has previously graced BBC shows including Live at the Apollo, Have I Got News for You and Eight out of Ten Cats, has sought to crowdfund his defence, describing the case as an “Israel lobby prosecution.”
The crowdfunder goes on to describe the private prosecution as “a warning shot to every artist, speaker, and dissenter who refuses to stay silent on Palestine and is critical of Israel.”
The alleged communications from Hunter to Bachram are reported to have taken place shortly after the comedian received significant censure for a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last year. At that performance, Hunter was involved in a verbal altercation with a Jewish couple, who took issue with a line in his show about Israel. After the couple left, Hunter told a “joke” about his wife in which she supposedly said, in reference to a Jewish newspaper, “Typical f***ing Jews, they won’t tell you anything unless you subscribe.”
Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This is one of a number of private prosecutions that we are bringing, and there will be more to say on the case in due course.”
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