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Man whose house had Nazi flags, fridge magnets and Adolf Hitler portrait jailed

Samuel Doyle was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.

Callum Parke
Wednesday 02 August 2023 11:14 BST
Samuel Doyle was jailed for three years on Monday (Derbyshire Police/PA)
Samuel Doyle was jailed for three years on Monday (Derbyshire Police/PA)

A man whose house was found adorned with Nazi flags, fridge magnets and a portrait of Adolf Hitler has been jailed.

Samuel Doyle also called for the killing of members of the LGBT+ community and the extermination of Jewish people in a range of online posts.

When officers searched the 40-year-old’s home, on the edge of the Peak District, they also found fascist and racist manifestos and books, Derbyshire Police said on Wednesday.

Doyle, of Highfield Road, Glossop, Derbyshire, was jailed for three years at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.

The posts he wrote are abhorrent – calling directly for violent action to be taken against a number of minority groups

Detective Inspector Chris Brett

DI Chris Brett, from CTPEM, said: “Freedom of speech is an important part of our shared British values – and something that is enshrined in law.

“However, those freedoms are not without limit and it is clear that the views Samuel Doyle expressed online stepped well over the line into criminality.

“The posts he wrote are abhorrent – calling directly for violent action to be taken against a number of minority groups.

“Some may say that posting online is different to expressing these views in person, but that is absolutely not the case.

“We have seen across the world how online posting of this nature has had serious ‘real world’ outcomes – including, sadly, fatalities.

“In recent years we have seen an increasing number of cases involving people who have been pulled into online hate speech and extremist views, and I would urge people who are concerned about family, friends or colleagues to come forward and report their behaviour.”

The force said Doyle came to the attention of officers from Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTPEM) after intelligence about his online activity was passed to them.

Further enquiries then uncovered a large number of posts made by a username linked to Doyle, which led to his arrest in February 2022.

Following two no comment interviews, Doyle was charged and later pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing or publishing written material to stir up racial hatred.

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