Cliff Notes
- Fayaz Khan, a 26-year-old Afghan migrant, was found guilty of threatening Nigel Farage in a TikTok video, described as “chilling” by Farage himself.
- The trial revealed Khan’s extensive online presence, including a live-streamed journey to the UK and videos featuring gun gestures alongside his AK-47 tattoo.
- Despite Khan’s claim that the video was comedic and not a real threat, prosecutors characterised it as sinister, pointing to his interest in firearms as a significant concern.
Migrant with AK-47 face tattoo found guilty of threatening to kill Nigel Farage | Politics News
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An Afghan migrant has been found guilty of threatening to kill Nigel Farage in a TikTok post.
Fayaz Khan, 26, chose not to give evidence in his trial, in which he was accused of threatening the Reform UK leader between 12 and 15 October last year in a video on the social media platform.
Mr Farage said the video was “pretty chilling”.
Jurors deliberated for 11 hours and 55 minutes before finding him guilty at Southwark Crown Court.
They had been told Khan had a “very large presence online”, with his TikTok videos amassing hundreds of thousands of views as he showed himself attempting to come to the UK by small boat last autumn.
The Afghan national, who has an AK-47 tattoo on his right cheek and arm, live-streamed his journey across the English Channel from France in a small boat and was arrested on 31 October after arriving in the UK.
He had been living in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2019.
Jurors were told that on 12 October last year, Mr Farage uploaded a YouTube video titled “The journey of an illegal migrant”, which highlighted Khan and referenced “young males of fighting age coming into our country about whom we know very little”.
Khan responded with a video two days later in which he appeared to say: “Englishman Nigel, don’t talk s**t about me.
“You not know me. I come to England because I want to marry with your sister. You not know me.
“Don’t talk about me more. Delete the video.
“I’m coming to England. I’m going to pop, pop, pop.”
He made gun gestures with his hand and headbutted the camera during the video, while pointing to the AK-47 tattoo on his face to “emphasise he wasn’t joking”, Mr Ratliff said.
Mr Farage, who was at court for the trial, said the video was “pretty chilling”.
“Given his proximity to guns and love of guns, I was genuinely worried,” he said.
“He says he’s coming to England and he’s going to shoot me.”
Other videos Khan posted on social media were shown to the jury in which he appeared to make “pop, pop, pop” noises and similar gun hand gestures.
After his arrest, Khan told police in November last year: “It was just a video, it was never an intention to threaten him.
“It was never my intention to kill him or anything – this is my character, this is how I act in my videos.
“In every video I make those sounds, I say ‘pop, pop pop’.”
Prosecutor Peter Ratliff said the threat to kill was “not some off-the-cuff comment” and the video was “sinister and menacing”.
He said Khan, who denied the charge, was a “dangerous man with an interest in firearms” and who had an AK-47 tattooed on his arm and face.
Defence lawyer Charles Royle said Khan was “remonstrating in his own idiosyncratic, moronic, comedic, eye-catching, attention-seeking way” rather than making a threat to kill in the TikTok video.
He told jurors the trial was “not about your views on illegal immigration, nor about your views on face tattoos, Brexit or Reform”.
Discussing Khan’s decision not to give evidence, Mr Royle said: “You shouldn’t hold any silence against him.”
