Two English Defence League leaders accused of trying to go to the scene of soldier Lee Rigby’s killing have denied charges of obstructing police officers.
The men allegedly tried to defy a ban on marching to the scene in Woolwich, south-east London, via a major mosque.
Tommy Robinson, 30, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, and co-leader Kevin Carroll, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
They will now face trial at the same court on 16 October.
The court heard the pair were arrested on suspicion of obstructing officers outside Aldgate East Tube station on 29 June.
The pair, both from Luton, were detained after attempting to stage what they claimed was a charity walk to Woolwich Barracks via the East London Mosque in Whitechapel, in breach of police restrictions put in place to avoid “serious public disorder and serious disruption to the life of the community”, the court was told.
The Metropolitan Police said it had offered two alternative routes that avoided Tower Hamlets, home to the mosque, and had warned that anyone who tried to march to Woolwich would face arrest.
As well as planning to lay flowers in memory of Fusilier Rigby in Woolwich on Armed Forces Day, Mr Robinson and Mr Carroll said they were also walking to raise money for a young girl who has neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from nerve cells.