A Yorkshire man in the UK found himself in legal trouble after posting a photo of himself with a firearm during a vacation in the United States.
Jon Richelieu-Booth had uploaded the image while enjoying his time in Florida earlier in the year. This seemingly innocuous act led to an unexpected knock on his door by a police officer, as he recounted to The Yorkshire Post.
The officer warned him about the potential implications of his online activities and their effects on others. Despite this initial warning, police later returned to his residence, arresting Richelieu-Booth. He was detained overnight and questioned regarding the gun photo and another unrelated image.
His bail documentation reportedly included allegations of possessing a firearm with the intent to cause fear, as well as stalking charges connected to a property image.
Richelieu-Booth explained that he attempted to verify the image’s origin as his holiday in the US. After being released on bail, he faced multiple visits from authorities before the allegations related to stalking and illegal firearm possession were dismissed. Nevertheless, he was charged with a public order offense concerning a different photograph.
Scheduled to appear at Bradford Magistrates’ Court earlier this month, the case against Richelieu-Booth was eventually dropped due to lack of evidence. Reflecting on the ordeal, he shared, “I have not been able to sleep, I’ve lived in fear of a knock at my door for the last three months. I haven’t spoken to my neighbors for four months. It has damaged my ability to run my business. I’ve been put through 13 weeks of hell.”
He further questioned the state of societal discourse, asking, “When did we go from a society where you can have a discussion with somebody and go, ‘You know what? I don’t like your opinion. I’m going to disagree with you, but I’m not going to tell you why, I’m going to call the police’. When did we get so thin-skinned as a society?”
Richelieu-Booth intends to pursue legal action against West Yorkshire Police, stating, “I will be filing a case against the police. I will be seeking quite a lot of damages.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police told Metro: “Police received a complaint of stalking involving serious alarm or distress, relating partly to social media posts, several of which included pictures of a male posing with a variety of firearms which the complainant took to be a threat. Police investigated and charged a man with a public order offence but the case was then discontinued by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service).”