A judge has quashed a summons against comedian Reginald D Hunter, brought privately by Campaign Against Antisemitism, ruling it “abusive” and intended to get the comedian “cancelled”.
The 56-year-old US comic had been accused of three counts of sending an offensive communication on three different occasions – 24 August, 10 September and 11 September last year – to Heidi Bachram on X.
The summons was quashed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday by District Judge Michael Snow following an application by the defence.
Judge Snow ruled that the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) charity’s motive in seeking to prosecute Hunter was “to have him cancelled” and that the prosecution was “abusive”.
Bought as a private prosecution, rather than by the state, the judge said the charity was seeking to use the criminal justice system “for improper reasons”.
The CAA describes itself as a volunteer-led charity, “dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism through education and zero-tolerance enforcement of the law”.
In his ruling, Judge Snow said: “The CAA have demonstrated by the misleading and partial way in which it summarised its application and its wilful, repeated, failure to meet its disclosure obligations, that its true and sole motive in seeking to prosecute Reginald Hunter is to have him cancelled.
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“I have no doubt that the prosecution is abusive.
“My view of the conduct of the CAA is consistent with them as an organisation which is not ‘playing it straight’ but is seeking to use the criminal justice system, in this case for improper reasons.”
‘Inadequate’ summary and failure to flag compliance probe
Judge Snow said the summary of Ms Bachram’s tweeting in the application case summary was “wholly inadequate”.
He added: “It did not reveal the extent of her tweets directed against Reginald Hunter in the period immediately preceding the complaints (her tweets were sent between 15 August and 11 September 2024).
“The summary misled me into believing that his comments were addressed to her involvement with the Jewish faith as opposed to his response to attempts that were being made to have him ‘cancelled’.”
The judge said the CAA had failed to inform him of a compliance investigation by the Charity Commission into the CAA in November 2024.
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CAA accused of ‘weaponising’ the court
Hunter’s lawyer Rebecca Chalkley KC told the hearing on Tuesday that “very little was disclosed” to the judge and the “lack of candour” meant the summons should be quashed.
Ms Chalkley said: “It calls into question the whole juridical process as judges before issuing summonses need to have everything in front of them.”
The lawyer told the judge: “You were led to believe in papers in front of you that the CAA was no more than a charity, that it had no history – as since demonstrated as a vexatious litigant – no complaints, no criticism in Parliament, no investigations by the Charity Commission.”
The lawyer added: “The CAA are weaponising and using the courts for their own political agenda and not just in this case.”
The CAA’s prosecutor Donal Lawler told the hearing that the charity had complied with its duty of candour.
Hunter regularly tours the UK and has appeared on comedy panel shows Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Have I Got News For You and 8 Out Of 10 Cats.
A crowdfunding campaign he launched to help him cover his legal fees raised over £58,000 in less than six months.
