A British man was reportedly arrested after posting a photo on social media showing him holding a gun.
The image, taken in the United States, was uploaded to LinkedIn back in August. And, according to Jon Richelieu-Booth, an IT contractor, the photo caused a nightmarish legal drama with the West Yorkshire Police, despite the gun being legal and the image being taken on private property, Metro reported.
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A cop initially came to his home and warned about his postings, citing a complaint from a person who saw the image. Then, cops came back later that night on August 24 and arrested Richelieu-Booth.
This was only the beginning, as The Yorkshire Post reported that he ended up having strained relationships with neighbours and others over the constant police presence and even had his equipment and devices seized by cops.
What’s perhaps most perplexing is that the caption and accompanying text purportedly included nothing threatening or legally concerning. Richelieu-Booth also told the media that he tried to explain to cops that the photo wasn’t taken in the UK and was, instead, captured in America — but to no avail.
Richelieu-Booth was reportedly held in prison overnight and interrogated, being accused of holding a firearm with the intent to cause fear of violence. After being released on bail, authorities came three other times to visit him through October, Metro reported.
The case was dropped eventually over a lack of evidence, but Richelieu-Booth is now speaking out against what he believes to be an “Orwellian” nightmare.
“I have not been able to sleep, I’ve lived in fear of a knock at my door for the last three months,” he said. “I haven’t spoken to my neighbours for four months. It has damaged my ability to run my business. I thought ‘1984’ was a book, not an instruction manual.”
Media outlets are now questioning the decision to arrest Richelieu-Booth over a social media post, something apparently not unique to his situation.
“On the evidence seen by The Yorkshire Post, there was never a scintilla of a chance of a successful prosecution, and so serious questions remain about the policing standards and motivations applied in this case, and the leadership who permitted his pursuit until the day after this newspaper applied to cover the impending court case,” The Yorkshire Post wrote. “It is not good enough, as it has, for West Yorkshire Police to hide behind its completely inadequate response that Mr Richelieu-Booth might complain about how they treated him, and so will not comment.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police told Metro that the complaint at the center of the crisis was based on fears that the initial photo was a threat.
“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,” the statement read. “Police investigated and charged a man with a public order offence but the case was then discontinued by the CPS.”
