Man, 26, sentenced for stirring up racial hatred
Main article content
A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to three years and two months in prison after he pleaded guilty to publishing written material to stir up racial hatred.
Tyler James Kay, previously of Ellfield Court, Northampton, admitted to publishing the inflammatory posts on social media on August 7, during a period of unrest across the country.
In his police interview, Kay accepted that others could have been influenced by the language used but stated that he copied and pasted part of one post from another account in order to show that “an average 'Joe Bloggs' like me would not be arrested for it.”
After pleading guilty to the offence at Northampton Magistrates’ Court yesterday (August 8), Kay appeared before Her Honour Judge Adrienne Lucking at Northampton Crown Court today (August 9).
In court, Kay gave evidence before the Judge, denying that he intended to stir up racial hatred but admitting that “in hindsight” some of his posts “made me look like an idiot”. He also referenced the “high amount of misinformation online”, stating “I didn’t know what to believe.”
After stating that she was “completely sure that he knew racial hatred would be stirred up” as a result of his “utterly repulsive, racist and shocking posts that have no place in civilised society, including on social media”, HH Judge Lucking sentenced Kay to three years and two months in prison.
Detective Chief Superintendent Rich Tompkins said: “I hope this case sends a very clear message to people who think they can hide behind a screen and publish hateful, racially prejudiced posts without consequence.
“This case is not an example of preventing ‘freedom of speech’ as a small minority of people will claim.
“It is about standing up for what is right and protecting our communities from fear of violence. After all, freedom of speech is not freedom to spread racial hatred.
“This week, we have had some really positive engagements with communities across the county, most notably the gathering of people standing against racism in Northampton on Wednesday evening.
"We stand with our communities and will do everything we can to help them feel safe and protected from crime.”
