UK bars American anti-Islam influencer over far-right rally appearance, Muslim groups applaud decision

LONDON (MNTV) — Britain’s Home Office has blocked a United States-based anti-Islam social media personality from entering the country, after a last-minute reversal that followed pressure from Muslim organisations and widespread public outcry over her initially approved travel status.

Valentina Gomez, a 26-year-old Colombian-born influencer who has aligned herself closely with the MAGA movement and twice stood unsuccessfully for political office in Missouri and Texas, had been due to headline a far-right rally in central London on 16 May. 

She was set to speak at a Unite the Kingdom demonstration organised by convicted criminal and far-right figure Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. 

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood intervened at the eleventh hour, determining that allowing Gomez into the country would not serve the public good. 

Government officials emphasised that while the peaceful expression of views remains a democratic right, that protection does not extend to the promotion of hatred and extremist ideology. 

From visa approval to revocation

The episode unfolded with unusual speed. Earlier in April, Gomez announced on Instagram that her Electronic Travel Authorisation had been approved, posting “VISA APPROVED” alongside a screenshot of the confirmation email. That announcement triggered a mass campaign from Muslim advocacy groups and the wider U.K. Muslim community challenging the decision.

The Muslim Council of Britain promptly wrote to the Home Secretary expressing alarm that Gomez had been granted permission to enter the country again, warning in a letter published on 17 April that allowing her to speak on a public platform would “grant legitimacy and sends a troubling message about the selective application of Home Office standards.” 

The Council also warned that her presence would “lead to less safety and security on the streets of Britain.”

Within days, the Home Office reversed its earlier decision and revoked her authorisation entirely.

Record of incitement

Gomez’s background made the initial approval of her travel application a source of considerable concern for many. During an unsuccessful bid for a congressional seat representing Texas’s 31st District, she released a campaign video in which she set fire to a copy of the Quran using a flamethrower, warning that “your daughters will be raped, and your sons beheaded, unless we stop Islam once and for all.” 

Wearing camouflage trousers and a campaign T-shirt emblazoned with a rifle silhouette, she declared America a Christian nation and told Muslims to leave for one of the world’s 57 Muslim-majority countries. 

In May 2025, she also stormed the stage at Texas Muslim Capitol Day — an annual civic engagement event at the state Capitol — drawing condemnation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which warned that her conduct fuels Islamophobia and threatens religious freedom. 

This was not Gomez’s first visit to Britain either. She attended the previous Unite the Kingdom rally in September 2025, where she took to the stage before a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands — reportedly the largest rally of its kind in British history — and warned that “rapist Muslims” were “taking over” the country. She also directly addressed police officers in attendance, urging them to “stop following orders” and accusing the state of forcing the nation into “submission.” 

Gomez had also previously referred to Home Secretary Mahmood — who is Muslim — as a “dirty” Muslim in a post on X, writing: “No nation has ever benefitted from bringing in dirty Muslims like you.” 

Defiant response

Gomez did not accept the ban quietly. Following the revocation of her travel authorisation, she posted on X that she intended to cross to England by boat, writing: “I’m coming to England on a boat. They can try to ban me, but they cannot ban the TRUTH. See you May 16th.” An accompanying video included racial abuse directed at the Home Secretary. 

The response was met with derision by British commentators and Muslim advocates, who noted the irony of an anti-immigration campaigner threatening to enter the country through the same irregular channel she had publicly condemned asylum seekers for using.

Muslim community welcomes decision

The Muslim Council of Britain formally welcomed the reversal, calling it both overdue and necessary. 

The organisation said the ban should set a standard going forward, stating that people who propagate hate speech and division should not be given free entry to the United Kingdom, and that the government’s decision should serve as a precedent for others who choose to promote disinformation and hatred. 

Gomez’s exclusion was understood to be based on the principle that the democratic right to expression does not extend to the promotion of hatred and extremism — the same legal basis used to block her entry as was applied to rapper Kanye West earlier this month.