Court Summons Against Reginald D Hunter Quashed Due to Misleading Prosecution
Westminster Magistrates' Court, presided over by District Judge Michael Snow, has quashed the summons against comedian Reginald D Hunter after finding that the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) misled the court in bringing a private prosecution against him.
The case involved three counts alleging Hunter sent offensive messages to Heidi Bachram on social media on 24 August, 10 September, and 11 September 2024. However, Judge Snow ruled that the CAA's motive was to cancel Hunter and described the prosecution as abusive. He found that the application summary was misleading and that the disclosure obligations required by the court were not met.
The judge noted that the case summary failed to reveal the extent of Bachram's tweets preceding the complaints and misled him into thinking Hunter's comments targeted Bachram's Jewish faith rather than being a reaction to attempts to cancel him.
Hunter's counsel, Rebecca Chalkley KC, argued that very little information had been disclosed to the court and accused the CAA of pursuing a political agenda through litigation. On the other hand, CAA's prosecutor Donal Lawler contended that the charity complied with its candour duties, but the court was not persuaded and found misrepresentation.
The ruling implies that the summons would not have been issued if the full information had been before the court. Consequently, the private prosecution was deemed abusive with improper motives.
