A British man, Samuel Melia, aged 34, hailing from Pudsey in West Yorkshire, has been handed a two-year prison sentence for his involvement in propagating racial hatred through the creation of an online repository of downloadable anti-immigration stickers. The Leeds Crown Court, as reported by BBC News, found Melia guilty of inciting racially aggravated criminal damage.
Melia, identified as the Yorkshire coordinator for the British Nationalist Group Patriotic Alternative, was implicated as the leader of the Telegram Messenger group “Hundred Handers,” responsible for producing printable anti-immigration stickers that were affixed in public spaces, according to court documents.
These stickers bore various messages, including “We will be a minority in our homeland by 2066” and “It’s okay to be white.” Notably, some stickers were adorned with the logo of the left-wing Extinction Rebellion movement, with messages such as “Sink the boats, save the world” and “Only white people care about the environment.”
British Man Receives 2-Year Prison Sentence for Anti-Immigration Sticker Offense (Credits: Yahoo)
Presiding Judge Tom Bayliss KC condemned the stickers as containing “ethnic slurs” detrimental to societal cohesion and branded Melia as an “anti-Semite” with “Nazi sympathies.”
Court records revealed Melia’s deep fascination with Sir Oswald Mosley, the founder of the British Union of Fascists, indicating an intent to propagate antisemitism akin to Mosley’s doctrines. Additionally, Melia was found to possess a poster of Hitler in his garage.
The court characterized the majority of content disseminated by Hundred Handers as “xenophobic, nationalistic, and vitriolic,” prompting Melia to assert that the stickers aimed to “initiate dialogue.” However, Judge Bayliss dismissed Melia’s defense, asserting his conviction that Melia harbored racist and white supremacist ideologies alongside Nazi sympathies and antisemitic beliefs.
Expressing concern over the normalization of gross antisemitism reminiscent of the 1930s, Judge Bayliss underscored the imperative of preventing its resurgence and its potential to undermine Western democracy.
Melia’s arrest in April 2021 led to the discovery of a label printer and anti-immigration stickers during a search of his residence. He has been mandated to serve half of his sentence in custody before being released on license.
In its stance, the Patriot Alternative group emphasizes the indigenous status of the English, Northern Irish, Scottish, and Welsh within the United Kingdom, asserting their exclusive claim to the nation and advocating for their right to self-determination based on cultural, religious, and historical grounds.
