An Afghan migrant who came to the UK on a small boat has been jailed for threatening to kill Nigel Farage in a TikTok video.
Fayaz Khan, 26, filmed himself making the threat, mimicking the “pop, pop, pop” noise of a gunshot, between 12 and 15 October last year in a post that the Reform UK leader described as “pretty chilling”.
He was convicted following a trial at Southwark Crown Court by a majority of 10 jurors to two, and has been sentenced to five years behind bars.
The court heard that Khan is believed to have given a false name to British authorities after entering the UK illegally, and has a criminal record in Sweden.
Swedish authorities believe he is 31-year-old Fayaz Husseini, and has 17 convictions for 12 separate incidents, which include carrying a knife and threatening behaviour.
He claimed to have used a different name as he has “enemies”, and went by the username “madapasa” on the social media platform, where he had amassed hundreds of thousands of views.
Several of his videos had focused on his attempts to come to the UK via Channel crossing, after previously living in Stockholm since 2019.
On 12 October last year, Mr Farage uploaded a video to YouTube 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 on 14 October, which was played to the jury, in which Khan appears to say: “Englishman Nigel, don’t talk shit 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 [sic]. Delete the video. I’m coming to England. I’m going to pop, pop, pop.”
While Khan said “pop, pop, pop” he made “gun gestures with his hand”, as well as headbutting the camera during the video, and was pointing to an AK-47 tattoo on his face to “emphasise he wasn’t joking”, jurors were told.
Khan had “live-streamed” his journey across the English Channel from France and was arrested on 31 October last year after arriving in the UK on a small boat.
Addressing the video, sentencing judge Mrs Justice Steyn said: “You saw the widespread dissemination of Mr Farage’s video as a hindrance to your attempts to come to the UK.”
Giving evidence, Mr Farage said: “Given his proximity to guns and love of guns, I was genuinely worried. He says he’s coming to England and he’s going to shoot me.”
Jurors were shown a screenshot of a subsequent TikTok post by Khan with the caption “I mean what I say” written on an image of a GB News report about the alleged threat against Mr Farage.
In his police interview, Khan denied wanting to kill Mr Farage, and said that he had been smoking cannabis and was high at the time of filming the video.
His lawyer, Charles Royle, said: “I have instructions from Mr Khan to apologise to Mr Farage and to his sister for any offence and upset caused.”
The prosecution said Khan had also committed multiple low-level offences, including some involving drugs.
Peter Ratliff said Khan was convicted in June 2019 of using threatening behaviour towards a public servant, for which he was imprisoned. He was also convicted of carrying a knife in a public place in April 2020 and was jailed for three months in October that year for using threatening behaviour. Khan was also convicted of vandalism, which resulted in a two-month prison sentence in March 2023.
Mrs Justice Steyn said: “Your video was not more abuse; it was a threat to kill with a firearm and it was, as Mr Farage put it, ‘pretty chilling’.”
After he was jailed, Khan shouted from the dock that Mr Farage wanted to “use me because you want to be prime minister”.
Following Khan’s conviction, Mr Farage told reporters, “Well, I suppose we call that a win,” and added: “But the fact is that in 18 months’ time this violent criminal, somebody with 17 convictions in Sweden, in 18 months’ time he will be in this country, living in a house of multiple occupancy or a hotel, free to walk the streets whilst his asylum claim is judged.”
Asked if he was “shaken” by the outburst Khan shouted at Mr Farage after he was sentenced, he said: “Well, in 18 months’ time, when he’s out free and there’s no order, there’s no restraining order on him, I’ll be very thoughtful again.”
Downing Street welcomed the outcome of the case, with the prime minister’s official spokesman stating it was “absolutely unacceptable to threaten violence against anyone”, particularly MPs.
The spokesman added: “We thank the police and all those involved in the case for delivering justice.”
