A man believed to be a leading organizer of last summer's riots has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for using social media to encourage people to take part in the riots.
Andrew McIntyre, 39, set up a Telegram channel called Southport Wake Up shortly after the knife attack in the Merseyside town on July 29 last year, Liverpool Crown Court heard. I made it.
Sentencing Mr McIntyre, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said he was “high profile” among those responsible for spreading misinformation after the Southport attack.
“You were motivated by racial hatred,” he told McIntyre. “There is no doubt that your actions inspired many people to plan and carry out crimes of both violent riot and criminal damage.”
Campaign group Hope Not Hate later said Mr McIntyre was the “lead organizer” and “principal architect” of the riots and that the UK was a safer place because he was now in prison. said.
Arthur Gibson, prosecuting, said the case involved a “sinister side” of the violence that took place in parts of the UK last summer.
“The prosecution case is that many of these disorderly meetings did not simply occur spontaneously, or simply because people happened to be present and decided to participate,” he said.
“To a greater or lesser degree, it is the Crown's case that other persons took part in organizing, encouraging and inciting such gatherings, and that the disorder resulted.
“It is the Crown's case that one of those persons is the defendant.”
Mr Gibson said the Southport Wake Up Channel was identified by Hope Not Hate as the “initiator and source of a series of posts” about the violence.
The court heard McIntyre, who pleaded guilty to encouraging a violent riot and possessing a knife, shared content from the site Tommy Robinson/Britain First/For Britain about the July 30 protests in Southport. The trial was held.
He also posted a map, adding: “Mosque at the top of Hart Street.”
In a subsequent post he wrote: “Stand up, Brits. 8pm tomorrow, St. Luke's Road Southport.”
Hours before violence erupted in Southport on July 30, he posted what was described as an “clear threat to police”, writing: ”
“I'm going to go to the mosque and completely destroy it,” another user responded.
The court was told that Mr McIntyre's mobile phone was in the St Luke's Road area of Southport at 7pm on July 30 and that the car in which he was later arrested was also in the area at the time of the riot. .
The day after the failure, McIntyre posted: “To all the hard hitters, you did a great job last night.
“Are you ready for round two?…Liverpool Mosque, West Derby Road, Friday 8pm.”
Mr Gibson said Mr McIntyre was working as a taxi driver when he was stopped and arrested by police in Liverpool on August 8.
A knife was found hidden in the boot of his car and when his home was searched, officers found the weapon and a copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf, the court heard.
He was initially charged with soliciting murder after posting a link to a YouTube video of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper with the caption: “Hang this woman and her friends.”
Mr Gibson said the decision not to bring the case to trial was taken because of “evidential issues” as to whether the defendant actually believed the act would take place. This count remained on file at an earlier hearing.
Ms McIntyre, of Rufford, near Ormskirk, Lancashire, watched the trial via video link from HMP Liverpool as her parents watched from the general public seating area of the courtroom.
Defense lawyer Julian Nutter said: “His parents are horrified that he is in this predicament. He has always been a good person and has never come to the attention of police before.”
Hope Not Hate said it helped secure evidence that led to the prosecution of Mr. McIntyre.
Joe Mulhall, the charity's head of research, said: “This country is safer now that Andrew McIntyre is behind bars.” Hope Not Hate is proud to have provided evidence against him.
“The overall picture of McIntyre's use of social media is that of a man obsessed with hatred and violence, who finds little satisfaction in activities that do not quickly quell his desire to harm others.”
