Man Sentenced to Two Years for Inciting Anti-Muslim Hatred on Facebook
Geraint Boyce, 43, from Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, pleaded guilty to one charge of publishing written material intended to stir up religious hatred. During sentencing, the judge emphasized that Boyce’s posts were “encouraging activity that would threaten or endanger life.”
The prosecution highlighted that Boyce’s far-right rhetoric had religiously and racially aggravated motivations, Tell Mama reported on Friday.
On July 31, Boyce posted an image of a mosque on his Facebook wall with the caption “no more mosques,” and subsequently called for the burning of mosques with worshippers inside.
Police arrested Boyce on August 9, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) issued charges three days later. According to the British media, Boyce also called for the sinking of boats carrying refugees.
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Other inflammatory and threatening Facebook posts included captions like “I’m ready for war” over an image of a Union Jack and a lion, and another post that read “time to fight,” as reported by Sky News. The prosecution also noted that Boyce shared an AI-generated picture of a “Hulk-sized” man chasing Muslims in religious clothing.
While accepting Boyce’s early guilty plea and reducing the prison sentence, the judge made it clear that Boyce intended to “incite serious violence” during a “particularly sensitive social climate.”
News of Boyce’s sentencing comes amid record levels of recorded religious hate crimes in England and Wales, with nearly two in five of those targeted being Muslims (3,866 offences, 38 percent of religious hate crimes).
Source: Agencies
