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Man who used Facebook to encourage rioting jailed

NWP A police mugshot of Richard David WilliamsNWP
Richard David Williams is behind bars after encouraging rioting

A man who went on social media to encourage people to start a riot is thought to be the first person from Wales to get a conviction related to the recent disorder in England and Northern Ireland.

Richard David Williams, 34, of Maes Deri, in Ewloe, Flintshire, was handed a three-month jail sentence for talking about taking part in a riot and sharing a derogatory meme about migrants in a local Facebook group dedicated to protests.

The metal worker admitted sending menacing messages via a public communication network at Mold Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Williams was arrested on Wednesday after police officers identified him as the man behind the online posts.

He admitted posting a message urging people to riot on a Facebook group called "Riot/Protest re Deeside" on 7 August that said a "protest/riot" would be held to "keep our kids safe".

Mold magistrates' court heard he shared a picture accompanied by a racist joke.

Hearing the case by videolink district judge Stephen Harmes told Williams he was "a person who has little thought for others and the law".

He said: "We're in the second phase of harm to groups that had, from last week, been designated to be blamed for all society's ills by people like you."

He rejected Williams' description of himself as a "keyboard warrior" saying: "You're not a warrior and neither are the rioters."

He said Williams "tried to foment trouble and then tried to explain your way out of it".

He said: "We'll never be able to quantify what level of disruption your post caused, but it was part of a spider's web of disruption that caused riots up and down the country."

PA Three police in high viz vests hold a man down on the pavementPA
The offensive post on Facebook follows violence in parts of England and Northern Ireland

The chief prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, Jenny Hopkins, said: "Williams wrongly thought that he could spread derogatory and menacing content from behind a computer screen.

"Despite not taking part in unrest himself, he used social media to encourage others to engage in violent behaviour.

"I hope today's result sends a clear message to those using the internet to sow division - your actions have consequences and you will be prosecuted."