Man denies stirring up racial hatred on Facebook

A man charged with stirring up racial hatred online said illegal immigrants believed "they've got the numbers to take over the country", a court heard.

Jamie Michael, of Penygraig, Rhondda Cynon Taf, posted a 12-minute video on Facebook which urged people to "get ready", adding "we're under attack".

The 46-year-old, who appeared at Merthyr Crown Court on Tuesday, denies one charge of distributing audio or video material to stir up racial hatred.

In the video, posted two days after the Southport murders, he referred to illegal immigrants as "scumbags" and "psychopaths".

James Wilson, prosecuting, read a transcript of the footage Mr Michael posted on on 31 July, 2024.

In it, Mr Michael recorded himself talking to the camera, saying he had "warned" people something like this would happen.

Mr Michael, the court heard, said people should "get ready" and that "these types of people" should not be allowed to settle in the valleys.

He called reports Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana, 17 at the time of his crimes, was born in Cardiff as "a load of rubbish".

"He's not a Cardiff boy," he said. "This creature has come from out of the country, and now he's killed three little girls."

He claimed "real men" were needed to "start stepping up" to politicians adding: "Wise up people, we're under attack."

"These people think they've got the numbers to take over the country," he said.

"We still outnumber them by about 10 to one... we've not much time left guys, another five years I reckon.

"It doesn't mean getting bats and knives and stuff. (It means) doing things the right way... going to the police, going to the politicians."

People, he believed, should attend rallies held by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

"What if these people get guns?" he asked, adding that "(these) psychopaths are going to start targeting the kids".

The video ended with him dubbing himself a "concerned citizen".

Mr Wilson said Mr Michael had gone beyond criticising the Southport murders.

In his police interview, read in court, Mr Michael was asked to whom he was referring to in the plural.

He replied: "Illegal immigrants."

This, said Mr Wilson, showed Mr Michael's "focus" was not the Southport killer, but migrants generally.

Mr Wilson said Mr Michael was not merely negative but sought to "instil fear".

In the police interview, Mr Michael denied having an issue with legal migrants, saying: "I'm friends with loads of them."

Adam King, defending, said his client had the right to express his views, and that the video's content was not criminal or likely to stir up racial hatred.

The use of words like "psychopaths" and "scumbags", he said, referred only to migrants who murdered children, not migrants more generally.

If Mr Michael had used insulting words, he added, "it could only be towards people who would stab defenceless children to death".

The trial continues.