A businessman who was thrown in a police cell after posting holiday photos of himself holding a shotgun plans to sue the ‘thought police’ who arrested him – and wants to leave Britain for good, saying: ‘I don’t feel welcome in this country anymore.’
Jon Richelieu-Booth, 50, claims he endured ’13 weeks of hell’ after police officers banged on his front door and held him over a LinkedIn photo showing him posing with the firearm in Florida – where owning firearms is entirely legal.
The IT consultant, from Keighley, West Yorkshire, said he was shocked by the ‘Orwellian’ decision by police to prosecute him over the social media post.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Richelieu-Booth said the ordeal has destroyed his faith in British policing and driven him to plan a permanent move to the United States.
He also said he is considering legal action against West Yorkshire Police, claiming that his reputation has been ‘destroyed’.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said: ‘You’re brought up to respect the police because you think they’re there to protect you and your family. I was brought up by my parents to believe in truth and justice.
‘And as soon as you realise that that’s not the case, that trust is instantly corroded.
‘I’ve not slept for weeks. I lie awake dreading a knock at my door for whatever they’ve made up this week.
‘To be honest, I don’t feel welcome in this country anymore. I don’t feel safe in this country anymore.’
Mr Richelieu-Booth went shooting on private land in Florida to celebrate turning 50 – firing a hunting rifle, an AR-15, a shotgun, a 9mm Glock and a Taurus Judge revolver.
He said that on August 13 he posted a selection of images of him holding a shotgun while on a private homestead with friends during a holiday to his LinkedIn profile, thinking nothing more of them other than ‘light-hearted holiday photos’.
However, on August 14, he said a police officer visited his home to warn him that concerns had been raised about the post.
Mr Richelieu-Booth, who has no criminal record, says he immediately offered to prove the photos were taken in the US – but claims police told him they didn’t need to see it.
However two officers then returned to his home shortly after 10pm on August 24th and arrested him, this time on suspicion of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
A bail document refers to an allegation of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and a further allegation of stalking related to a photograph of a house that appeared on his social media.
Mr Richelieu-Booth says the complainant behind the police action is a contractor who owes him around £30,000.
He concedes that a photo of the contractor’s home taken by a business partner was uploaded onto his LinkedIn page.
He said he was held overnight in a cell before being interviewed.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said he was initially released on bail until late October.
He alleges that police officers then visited his property on three further occasions before he was re-arrested in October for allegedly breaching his bail conditions, though no further action was taken.
The firearms and stalking allegations were also dropped – but Mr Richelieu-Booth was charged with a public order offence relating to another social media post from August.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said he had not been told by police which post was being investigated but a prosecution document alleges it was published on August 18.
He said the only post he made that day on LinkedIn had called on the ‘delinquent’ contractor ‘to do the right thing’, with the businessman describing himself as being ‘angry’.
Mr Richelieu-Booth had been due to appear at Bradford magistrates’ court on November 25 charged with an offence of displaying ‘any writing/sign/visible representation with intent to cause harassment/alarm or distress’.
However, the charge was dropped a week before the scheduled court case, with the Crown Prosecution Service citing a lack of evidence.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said his arrest left him unable to work after officers seized his phone and laptop.
Speaking to the Mail, he said: ‘I posted a few photos from my vacation on LinkedIn but I’d obviously not written ‘this is from my vacation in Florida where firing a gun is completely legal’
‘The police told me that a complaint had been made about a social media post of me with a firearm. I believe the person who made the complaint is a client who refused to pay for work.
‘Apparently he was nervous that I’ve got a gun and it looks like a threat, despite the post not having any threat whatsoever.’
Mr Richelieu-Booth’s ordeal was highlighted by billionaire Elon Musk, who tweeted: ‘And this is why we have the first and second amendments in America.’
The businessman now says he plans to resettle in Florida with his American partner.
He said: ‘We’ve become really thin-skinned as a society. And, unfortunately, the authorities are downright Orwellian.
‘We should have a society where anyone can have a conversation with somebody and say, “you know what, I don’t like your opinion”.
‘Now we’ve got to that point where if I don’t like your opinion, I’m going to report you to the police for some form of hate crime.
‘This is what we’re dealing with, and this is one of the reasons why I want to move to Florida.
‘America’s a lot freer, it’s what we should be, and we shouldn’t be locking people up for “hurtful words”.
‘Thank God for people like Elon Musk who are championing free speech.
‘Keir Starmer insists we’ve had free speech in the UK for a long time – but clearly we don’t if my experience is anything to go by.’
He has instructed lawyers with a view to taking legal action against West Yorkshire Police.
He said: ‘I can’t work in the country now, I think my reputation’s ruined.
‘So it may indeed end up going down the route of legal action. I’ve been dragged through the mill on this and somebody should be held to account.
‘My opinion of West Yorkshire Police is they’re not fit for purpose and every single one of them that was involved in this needs to be suspended, investigated, fired and prosecuted.
‘Every single officer that’s looked at this case hasn’t looked at it with the full facts.
‘The officer in charge of this case came onto my drive on August 14, put his thumbs in his jacket to make himself look bigger and then tried to tell me I should be aware of how I’m making people feel.
‘It is just absolutely ridiculous.’
He said: ‘The CPS dropped the charges because there was no realistic evidence, no chance of a successful prosecution. And why would there be? Because there was no evidence in the first place.
‘I’ve done absolutely nothing criminal here, not at all, but I was persecuted for 13 weeks. I was unable to work, unable to sleep.
‘I was shunned by my neighbours and people were avoiding me.’
West Yorkshire Police said: ‘Police received a complaint of stalking involving serious alarm or distress, relating partly to social media posts, several of which included pictures of a male posing with a variety of firearms which the complainant took to be a threat.
‘Police investigated and charged a man with a public order offence but the case was then discontinued by the CPS.’
