An Iraq war veteran who was cleared of a ‘hate crime’ in 17 minutes has been banned from coaching his daughter’s football team after he complained about illegal immigrants.
Jamie Michael, from Penygraig in south Wales, was charged with inciting racial hatred following comments he made in a 12-minute Facebook video.
The 47-year-old described some migrants as ‘scumbags’ and ‘psychopaths’ as riots spread across the UK in the aftermath of the Southport murders.
Despite his acquittal Mr Michael was told a ‘child protection concern’ made against him had been ‘substantiated’ less than a fortnight after the jury delivered its not-guilty verdict.
As a result the Football Association of Wales has now barred the father-of-two from coaching his daughter’s team following a meeting held in private with a safeguarding officer and South Wales Police.
The former Royal Marine, who is suing the authorities for £25,000, told The Telegraph: ‘It makes no sense. It just seems to me they want to punish me because of my opinions and because my views don’t align with theirs.’
The ruling has prompted concern from free speech campaigners who claim people with ‘patriotic views’ are being ‘silenced’ due to ‘safeguarding concerns’.
The Free Speech Union (FSU) said it had identified more than a dozen cases of laws intended to keep children safe from adults being used to stamp out right-wing views.
{snip}
At a meeting last week, where the father attempted unsuccessfully to revoke his ban, he argued neither politics nor religion should play a part in sport.
According to the Telegraph, he questioned why footballers were allowed to ‘take the knee’ in support of Black Lives Matter, adding those on the Left seem to be able to ‘say what they like’ whereas comments made by those on the right are branded ‘far-Right’ and ‘terrorist’.
Mr Michael was arrested on August 9 last year and held in police custody for three days.
He then appeared before magistrates, where he was denied bail – despite his only previous conviction being for a driving offence 14 years prior.
‘Apparently I was likely to commit ‘further offences’ – it was suggested I even had terrorism intentions,’ he said earlier this year. ‘It was all a shock – I [had] never seen the inside of a prison.’
In his 12-minute clip, posted to Facebook on July 31, titled ‘This is what I think’ he had urged people ‘to get ready’ – but later stressed he wasn’t referring to violent attacks.
He said: ‘We need to start organising. Which doesn’t mean getting bats and knives and going doing what they [the rioters] are doing.
‘I’m talking about doing things the right way, getting in big groups, having meetings, and going to the council and the police and politicians.’
{snip}
He also described newly arrived immigrants as ‘psychopaths’; ‘We need to make sure that none of these scumbags come into our valley and settle here, making things unsafe for our children.’
And he spoke about holding local Labour councillors ‘personally responsible if anything happens to our little ones’.
{snip}
The post Man Cleared of Race-Hate Crime in Just 17 Minutes Is Barred From Coaching His Daughter’s Football Team appeared first on American Renaissance.