Two men, Jordan Parlour and Tyler Kay, have been put behind bars for a combined total of five years for their involvement in publishing Facebook posts that incited racial hatred and encouraged violence against immigrants and asylum seekers in Leeds during recent riots in the United Kingdom (UK).
Twenty-eight-year-old Jordan Parlour, from Brooklands Close, Leeds, bagged 20 months in prison for publishing written material intended to stir racial hatred.
Parlour made the posts targeting the Britannia Hotel in Seacroft, which serves as temporary housing for refugees and asylum seekers.
The posts called for the destruction of the hotel, as Parlour expressed his anger and frustration over the presence of asylum seekers in the UK.
In a separate case, Tyler Kay, a company director, was jailed for 38 months at Northampton Crown Court after he was found guilty of repeating anti-immigrant comments originally posted by the wife of a Tory councillor and boasting online that he would “categorically” not be arrested.
He called for action against immigration solicitors in Northampton and support for organized protests.
The prosecuting counsel Matthew Donkin told the court that as a result of their actions, violence was stirred against Britannia Hotel.
The hotel’s staff, he said, reported stones being thrown and windows being damaged between August 2 and August 3.
He also linked their actions to a broader wave of public disorder that spread across several UK cities, including Manchester, Southport, Hartlepool, Aldershot, and London.
The court was told that Parlour’s posts received numerous likes and comments, further fueling the spread of hate and violence.
When someone questioned Parlour about his motives online, he replied that he was frustrated by what he perceived as asylum seekers benefiting from taxpayer money that should be used for “hardworking people.
Parlour later confessed to the police that his posts were made out of “anger and frustration.”
The judge, Guy Kearl KC, condemned Parlour’s actions, stating that his intention to incite hatred and violence was “plainly evident.”
