Tommy Robinson is guilty of harassing two journalists because we do not, as it turns out, live in a "vigilante world," jurors have been told - a fact that apparently needed stating aloud in a courtroom, which is where we are.

The far-right activist, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had posted a video in which he told Daily Mail journalists he would find them after they wrote about his alleged role influencing England's 2024 riots. He told them he had obtained details of where they and their families lived and warned them to abide by "men's rules."

Ben Holt, prosecuting, offered the jury a gentle reality check: "Let's get real, shall we, and not live in a vigilante world where 'men's rules' apply? Whatever they are. Let's ground ourselves in a country where there is law and order." The "whatever they are" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

Summing up the case, Holt said Robinson had accepted that sharing images of journalists' homes and partial photos of their loved ones was intended to exert pressure. He rejected, however, Robinson's insistence that the journalists on the receiving end of what the prosecution called "bullyboy and intimidatory" conduct would not have been in fear of violence.

Robinson, 43, is charged with two counts of harassment causing fear of violence in 2024 against two Mail journalists, Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber. He denies the charges.

In evidence, Robinson said he had been in "a panic" after the Mail effectively identified a hotel in Cyprus where he had gone with family and friends, and published a photo of his ex-wife, which he said put her at risk. Holt countered that Robinson never asked for the image to be taken down in calls and messages to the journalists or the Daily Mail's editor. "Instead, he just threatened people. He acted like a bully," he said.

Holt repeated Robinson's words to the journalists - "Good for the goose, good for the gander. You are coming for me, I am coming for you" - and described them as "straightforward retaliation." The goose/gander doctrine, it should be noted, is not a recognized legal defense.

Such was the journalists' concern that police had to be called on a number of occasions, Holt said, pointing to "unpleasant" comments made by Robinson's supporters online after some of his posts. Robinson had close to 1 million followers on X at one point, and some of his supporters are "unpredictable," Holt said - a sentence that will surprise absolutely no one who has ever opened the replies.

Alisdair Williamson KC, for the defence, argued Robinson's actions were justified because the "fear for him is real." "When you judge whether what he did was reasonable, you might think that he showed some restraint," he told the jury. "I know what language I might use if people put my family in that position. The fear for him is real." Williamson added that the journalists did not care about Robinson's issues with the article or the stress it caused him: "They don't care to pick up the phone."

Agreed facts read to the court before closing speeches included a reference to four threat-to-life warning notices police had given Robinson in 2018, 2019 and 2024, shortly after the Daily Mail article. The court also heard that a video was posted online in August 2024 by a man named Omar Abdirizak, in which he said: "Tommy Robinson I got a message for you … we got pirates in every corner. Muslims in every corner," before making a rifle gesture.

The jury must now decide whether "men's rules" constitute a legal framework. Spoiler: they do not.