A man who was dubbed a “sad loner” has been jailed for 18 months after posting a 17-minute rant against Islam and Muslims on Facebook.
Louis Duxbury, 22, a York St. John’s University sports science student–who has since been expelled from the university–was reported to university administration by a fellow student after posting what has been called a “call to arms” against Islam.
The University called the police after they were alerted of the post.
Duxbury was given an 18-month sentence for inciting religious hatred for a post that was made two years ago.
Duxbury was expelled from the university and was evicted by his landlord following the verdict.
According to YorkPress:
The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, warned him his video could contribute to a future attack on Muslims.
“It has been a multi-racial and multi-faith island for thousands of years and will continue to be so,” he said.
“We have to live together in harmony because otherwise mayhem follows. I think you are a bit of a sad loner, but you have to go to prison.”
Duxbury denied the accusation of inciting religious hatred, but was convicted by a jury.
His barrister, Glenn Parsons, said: “The full force of those 17 minutes nearly two years ago have been brought home to Louis Duxbury.”
A statement from the university, justifying their expulsion of Duxbury, said: “Incitement to violence of any kind is abhorrent and there is absolutely no place for racist behaviour or language at York St John University.
“Whilst we are saddened to see behaviour that does not reflect our commitment to equality and human rights, we know that cases like this are extremely rare amongst our student community.
“We are pleased that our students identified this behaviour as unacceptable and brought their concerns to us.”
Duxbury refused to go to an anti-radicalization program.
The university continued: “To support all students who wish to raise concerns, the university has launched a Report and Support service for students to report hate crime, sexual harassment, sexual violence or domestic abuse and we will continue to liaise closely with police whenever unacceptable behaviour is brought to our attention.
“We are committed to promoting and providing an inclusive environment at York St John University where people from all backgrounds can thrive.”
