A former Royal Marine has spoken to GB News about spending 20 days in jail after being accused of stirring racial hatred on Facebook.
The episode was described as “chilling” by Andrew Pierce after Jamie Michael, of Penyraig, Rhondda Cynon Taf, spoke about having the police turn up at his door over a 12-minute video which he posted two days after the Southport killings in July.
Earlier this month, Michael was found not guilty by a jury at Merthyr Crown Court in a verdict that took less than an hour to reach - a moment viewed by many as a victory for free speech.
Speaking on the People’s Channel, Michael told Bev Turner and Andrew Pierce he was keen to “bring the community together” in the wake of Axel Rudakubana’s killings.
Jamie Michael had to sing Happy Birthday to his daughter over the phone
GB NEWS / FACEBOOK
“I wanted to get some security in place for the children, they are the ones who were attacked in this incident”, he said.
“Roughly a week later, I had a knock on my home address and there was about five officers there. My girlfriend answered the door and told them I wasn’t there, I was at work.
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Jamie Michael joined Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner on GB News
GB NEWS
“They came to see me at work. I came out to meet them and I put my camera on to film them for my own protection and I asked them what it was for, they said it was ‘nothing bad’, then told me I was under arrest.
“I spent three days in a cell. They told me when I got there I was going to go straight into an interview. I had a shoulder injury at the time and they handcuffed me to the rear.
“I complained multiple times about this and asked if I could be handcuffed to the front, they said no because of my reaction.
“They said it was a maximum charge of seven years and I was denied a phone call until after the interview.”
The ex-Marine was found not guilty at Merthyr Crown Court
PA
Michael said he was told by his duty solicitor that he could be looking at terror charges and feared his girlfriend might be in trouble due to “association”.
He told GB News that his duty solicitor informed him he “would have been fine” had he said the same thing a few months prior.
The revelation left him exasperated as he questioned “what’s the difference?” because the laws surrounding free speech had not changed.
The 46-year-old posted the 12-minute video in which he said illegal immigrants have “the numbers to take over” the country.
He also used the words “scumbags” and “psychopaths” and warned the country was “under attack”.
Michael said on GB News that words had been scrutinised in isolation and the targets for his criticism had been Rudakubana and “illegal, unchecked or radicalised immigrants”.
He admitted he had been “clumsy” with his choice of words when he recorded the video, but denied being racist.
"As a parent I felt gut wrenched. I wanted to get some kind of security measures in place for our children," he told the court.
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