March 11, 2010

I’m no racist, insists writer of offensive Facebook comments

A man who said he was “going to put nails in a stick” before attending an anti-Muslim protest insisted yesterday he is not racist

Kristopher Paul Woolf, of Queen Street, Ton Pentre, Rhondda, was one of five men arrested after police officers were alerted to offensive comments being made on a Facebook group trying to arrange the Rhondda March, a BNP anti-Muslim rally which was due to take place on Sunday, February 28.

Woolf, who pleaded guilty at Rhondda Magistrates’ Court to committing a religiously aggravated public order offence of using words to cause alarm or distress on January 15, has been warned he could face jail.

Simon Beattie, prosecuting, said 129 people were linked to the Rhondda March page on Facebook. He said: “One person who left a message was the defendant.”

He said Woolf, asked on the site whether he was going on the march, replied that he was, writing “I’m going to put some nails in a stick”.

But 30-year-old Woolf dismissed this comment as “childish banter” when interviewed by police. Mr Beattie added: “He said he had no intention of attending the march or harming anyone. On reflection he said he understood that minority groups could get alarmed or distressed. He said he wasn’t a racist.”

Although the Rhondda March did not take place following the arrests of five men in relation to comments they had made on Facebook, the proposed event sparked such outrage that almost 1,000 people joined an opposition group on the same website called “We say no to the planned Rhondda Valleys racist march”.

Kelly Robson, who grew up in the Rhondda, said she set up the group as a platform for “intelligent, informed, peace-loving residents of the Rhondda Valleys”.

Woolf was granted unconditional bail until his next hearing at Rhondda Magistrates’ Court on March 30. The other four men who were also arrested in relation to comments posted on the Rhondda March page have been bailed until June.

Wales Online

10 comments:

Manic Expressive said...

Wow. What else can I say? Just...wow. No, I guess I could also say that it's pretty sad.

UKfightback / BNPinfo said...

Delighted to hear a planned BNP rally was shelved after overwhelming opposition from locals.

Check out this video, edited from a documentary called "From Raj to Rhondda", which shows the massive contribution immigrants made to working class communities in South Wales...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAlLHQSUb8

Anonymous said...

I thought the BNP had stopped marching leaving it to their street-fighting neo-Nazi division, the EDL?

Anonymous said...

There's thousands of offensive comments related to the EDL, and the shadowy offshoot "Firms Unite" but the cops in West Yorkshire don't give a fuck about internet hate sadly and you have to report sick neo-Nazi shit to your nearest police station.

Also, do the police turn a blinder eye to YouTube?

Some nazis on there supporting the EDL and the BNP have called for anti-Muslim genocide???

Any police reading this, please give us answers??????????

NewsHound said...

LATEST FROM BOLTON COUNCIL - KEEP YOUR KIDS LOCKED INDOORS WHEN THE EDL ARE IN TOWN:

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1199291_keep_kids_out_of_town_plea_in_edl_demo_alert

Anonymous said...

Walker definitely to contest Stoke seat against Darby!

http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/Businessman-latest-join-BNP-election-line/article-1895224-detail/article.html

Anonymous said...

http://www.indymediascotland.org/node/18666

Seems like the scumbags sneaked into Scotland after all.

Anonymous said...

"He said he wasn’t a racist.”

Isn't it a strange world we live in? Out-and-Out racists nowadays will never admit they are racists. It's a term that seems to rank alongside 'pedophile' in it's impact and gravity and getting anybody to admit they are one is nigh impossible. They uses racist terms to describe Black and Brown people and give Nazi salutes but are they 'racists'? Never!

Anonymous said...

"I thought the BNP had stopped marching leaving it to their street-fighting neo-Nazi division, the EDL?"

The "no marches no punch ups" tactic (announced by Tony Lecomber in 1994) was always just that, a tactic. Tactics can be modified and changed at will to accord with new conditions and circumstances. While I don't think the BNP will actually 'march' as these bring back bad memories like Lewisham and Wood Green - I reckon, however,they'll prefer static demos like the EDL. Griffin probably thinks that the EDL aren't going away and getting a higher profile so will approve some limited street activity to keep younger members on board and appeal to EDL people he wants to recruit.

UKfightback said...

"Static" demos are also known by an older term - RALLIES, as in "Fascist Rally"... remember that?