London’s Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News they would crack down on people “committing crimes from further afield online.”
“The UK has continued to crack down on monitoring social media for content that could be considered incitement or hatred,” The Post Millennial noted.
“Whether you’re in this country committing crimes on the streets or committing crimes from further afield online, we will come after you,” Rowley said.
“We will throw the full force of the law at people,” he added.
Many people interpreted Rowley’s comments as a threat to extradite citizens of other countries for what they post online.
UK police commissioner threatens to extradite, jail US citizens over online posts: ‘We’ll come after you’ https://t.co/ybEjH5VsJz pic.twitter.com/5cRTFLrYDF
— New York Post (@nypost) August 10, 2024
In our country, we have freedom of speech. I would like to see them actually try this nonsense here. pic.twitter.com/HFj8Q2TPOW
— Brian Tyson, MD
(@btysonmd) August 10, 2024
Fox News reports:
One key aspect that makes this apparent crackdown on social media particularly shocking to critics is that the British government is threatening to extradite American citizens from the U.S. to be jailed in the U.K. for violating their rules about political speech online.
A Sky News reporter asked Commissioner Rowley to further explain his warning, arguing that high profile figures have been “whipping up the hatred,” and that “the likes of Elon Musk” have been getting involved. She then asked what the police force’s plan will be “when it comes to dealing with people who are whipping up this kind of behavior from behind the keyboard who may be in a different country?”
Rowley answered by telling the reporter, “Being a keyboard warrior does not make you safe from the law.”
“You can be guilty of offenses of incitement, of stirring up racial hatred, there are numerous terrorist offenses regarding the publishing of material,” he said. “All of those offenses are in play if people are provoking hatred and violence on the streets, and we will come after those individuals just as we will physically confront on the streets the thugs and the yobs who are taking — who are causing the problems for communities.”
WATCH:
Head of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley warns even people abroad will be arrested for mean posts. He seems to infer also @elonmusk.
With the First Amendment I don’t think an extradition request it’d get past the most under qualified lawyer. pic.twitter.com/buX0Tmc82V
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) August 8, 2024
“We can laugh at this as much as we want, because it’s absurd. But you better understand that a Harris/Walz administration would more than likely go along with this if it targeted the right people,” Not the Bee stated.
We can laugh at this as much as we want, because it’s absurd.
But you better understand that a Harris/Walz administration would more than likely go along with this if it targeted the right people. pic.twitter.com/fN006lvzD3
— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) August 10, 2024
“Democrat governors, the VP candidate is an example, have the same values as the Labour party in the U.K. The left will side with the left over the American people. Mark my words,” Phil Labonte commented.
i see a lot of bravado over this stuff but I am 100% convinced a democrat administration, which I believe is more likely than not to win the upcoming election, will comply with attempts to extradite Americans for violating U.K. speech laws. Democrat governors, the VP candidate is… https://t.co/kqwGDoiGC3
— Phil Labonte (@philthatremains) August 10, 2024
From The Post Millennial:
On Wednesday, the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales revealed that a dedicated team of authorities is actively monitoring social media platforms for such content, warning that those who post or even repost offensive material could be charged with a crime. In one recent case, a 31-year-old man in the UK was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail after commenting on a Facebook post with emojis that depicted minorities alongside a gun, accompanied by the words “filthy b*stards.”
The UK has recently seen a surge in right-wing protests following a mass stabbing incident, with demonstrators expressing concerns about mass migration from Muslim-majority countries. In response, Muslim “patrol groups” have taken to the streets, sometimes armed, to counter the protests, leading to violent clashes between everyone involved.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.
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