Man who shared antisemitic messages and Hitler quotes jailed for twelve months
A man who shared antisemitic messages and quotes from Adolf Hitler online has been jailed for twelve months after being found guilty of stirring up racial hatred.
Gareth Anthony Brett, 35 from Poole, used his Twitter and Telegram platforms to disseminate the racist posts to his 2,000 followers, Bournemouth Crown Court heard.
Mr Brett reportedly became obsessed with COVID-19 conspiracy theories in 2020, leading him down a “rabbit hole” that saw him posting incendiary messages about people who were not of “Aryan” or European descent.
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Prosecutor Amy Packham said of Mr Brett’s online activity: “There are posts highlighting the physical traits of Jewish people, coupled with images and symbolism which is well known to be antisemitic and antisemitic views used by neo-Nazis.
“He also on that account documented that he had taken a sample of his own DNA to determine his heritage and he implied that he would take his own life if the results showed that he was to be even one percent Jewish.”
Other messages contained extracts from Mein Kampf and content about white supremacy.
Ms Packham said: “This was not simply Mr Brett finding material that he was attracted to and resharing it, he was creating images such a white man wearing a swastika thumping on the back of a Jewish man with his mouth open against what is either a rail or a curb.”
Mr Brett was also said to have posted messages and images containing sexist, racist, and homophobic sentiments.
Following Mr Brett’s arrest on 28th January 2021, his Twitter and Telegram accounts were suspended. Admitting to the police officers that it was he who had posted the content in question, he explained his actions by saying that he was “simply posting the truth and wanted to help people realise the truth about the world.”
Jonathan Underhill, defending, told the court that Mr Brett “does accept through me that the nature of the posts that formed the basis of the charge goes beyond and outwith any genuine political view that he may have and fall into the realm of that which is illegal.”
Judge Robert Pawson, sentencing, described Mr Brett as “a loner with no purpose” in his summation, telling the defendant: “Judging someone on the colour of the skin, their religion or their race or nationality is like you being judged on the basis of a Mancunian accent or having a beard. To judge someone on the basis of they’re a White European is, I hope you appreciate, mad.
“From what I have read your background has a reasonably objectively sad aspect to it. (You have) lost contact with your mum, never known your father and drifting as a loner with no purpose.”
CST reported that evidence was supplied to CPS as a result of its open-source intelligence work.
Mr Brett pleaded guilty to four counts of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred between 29th May 2020 and 15th January 2021, and was sentenced to twelve months and two weeks in jail and ordered to pay a £156 victim surcharge.
Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.
Image credit: Dorset Police
