BELFAST councillor Jolene Bunting has said she is taking legal advice following a row with far right group Britain First.
The independent councillor had previously been a prominent supporter of the group and regularly accompanied its leader Paul Golding and deputy leader Jayda Fransen during their visits to Northern Ireland.
However, in a statement ahead of Britain First's first ever official meeting in the north, Mr Golding said councillor Bunting's membership had been "proscribed" and all contact severed following an "investigation".
In a series of social media posts, Ms Bunting thanked people for their support and said she was taking legal advice.
She said the allegations against her were "absolutely not true".
A number of Britain First supporters congregated outside Ards Leisure Centre on Saturday afternoon, where a counter-protest also took place, with UUP MLA Mike Nesbitt among those in attendance.
Ards and North Down Borough Council, which operates the leisure centre, said it had "not given permission" for Britain First "to congregate on council property".
Mr Golding and Ms Fransen are to stand trial in Belfast in September.
Their case in Belfast had to be put back after they were imprisoned in England in March for religiously aggravated harassment.
The pair, along with two other defendants, are being prosecuted over speeches delivered during a "Northern Ireland Against Terrorism" rally outside Belfast City Hall in August last year.
