A court summons issued against comedian Reginald D Hunter has been quashed by a court after a judge ruled it was an ‘abusive’ bid to get the comedian ‘cancelled’.
The American comic, who lives in the UK, was the subject of a private prosecution by Jewish group the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).
It had alleged that he had sent offensive communications to antisemitism campaigner Heidi Bachram three times in 2024, on August 24, September 10 and September 11 on the social platform X, formerly Twitter.
But a summons issued to Mr Hunter, 56, by the CAA was quashed at Westminster Magistrates’ Court by Judge Michael Snow following an application by the defence.
Judge Snow ruled that the CAA had been motivated by a desire to ‘have [Hunter] cancelled’ and that the prosecution was ‘abusive’, adding that the group was seeking to use the criminal justice system for ‘improper reasons’.
He criticised the Jewish organisation for a ‘wholly inadequate’ summary of Ms Bachram’s tweeting in its summary of its application when it came to disclosing her social media posts towards him.
This, he said, ‘misled’ him into believing that the comedian’s tweets were targeting her faith rather than responding to attempts to have him ‘cancelled’.
The private prosecution against Mr Hunter – known for his appearances on panel shows as well as a career of live stand-up – was brought without the involvement of the police or the Crown Prosecution Service.
Hellbound and Down 