Aristocrat who offered £5,000 for someone to run over Gina Miller is JAILED
WEALTHY British aristocrat Rhodri Philipps has been sentenced to prison after he was found guilty of making menacing threats relating to anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller.
Rhodri Philipps sentenced to 12 weeks in prison
Mr Philipps, the 4th Viscount St Davids, has been sentenced to 12 weeks in prison after he posted a series of messages on Facebook in November last year, in which he offered money for the campaigner to be run over.
The 50-year-old wrote a post related to an article headlined ‘Gina Miller clashes with Nigel Farage on TV over Brexit law challenge’ where he offered cash for the campaigner to be run over.
He said in November: “£5,000 for the first person to ‘accidentally’ run over this bloody troublesome first generation immigrant.
“This f***ing boat jumper come to this country, then believes she knows better than the people of our country, what is best for us.
“If this what we should expect from immigrants, send them back to their stinking jungles.”
A five-year restraining order was also placed against Mr Philipps in order to "protect" Ms Miller, along with Arnold Sube, the immigrant he abused online, and Matthew Steeples, who informed Ms Miller about the racist material.
Senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot ordered the recently bankrupt Philipps to pay £500 compensation, noting that he is of limited means. She gave him six months to pay up and warned she would send the bailiffs to his home if he did not comply. A £115 surcharge was imposed and Philipps was ordered to pay costs of £250.
The judge told Philipps that he had "tried and failed to justify the racist abuse" by saying that Ms Miller plus Mr Sube and his family deserved the language because they were immigrants.
The judge told him: "You told me proudly in evidence that your family motto is Love of Country and that is your motivation, but it seems to me on the evidence I have seen that you are not motivated by love of country, but by your hatred of anybody who has different views to yours and to any who have recently arrived in this country.
"You show this hatred by publicly directing abusive threats at others, which is a criminal offence in this multi-racial society we are lucky enough to live in."
Mr Philipps defended his remarks by claiming they were simply “political comment” and “satire” after he was arrested on January 25.
However, Chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said she had “no doubt it was menacing”.
Ms Miller told the court yesterday that she had been angered by the comments.
The business owner said: “This challenge has not been popular with supporters of the EU exit.
“I have received a series of threats. These threats have also been extended to family members and staff who work for me.
“Threats have been made over numerous social media accounts. The content of the threats vary widely.
“The most serious state I should be shot in the head, and left in a bin. There have been numerous racial slurs made against me.”
She added: “All of this abuse and the threats have made me feel very scared about my personal safety and that of my family."
“The words contained in this post generally shocked me, and made me feel violated, upset and angry. Racist and hateful words about me.
“Due to the nature of this post, I was extremely concerned someone would threaten to run over me as bounty. And I took this seriously.
“This is one of the main reasons I take my own personal security so seriously, and why I employ a professional company to protect me.”
Mr Philipps, of Knightsbridge in central London, denied three counts of sending by public communication network a menacing message.
He told the court: “My family motto is ‘Love of Country is my motivation’.”
Mr Philipps said his comments were “meant to be a form of satire, a literary technique, iterated in my personal style, which may not be to everyone’s taste, but is understood and accepted by everyone who knows me”.
But Ms Arbuthnot, in a series of exchanges with the aristocrat, asked Mr Philipps: “Boat jumper, how can I see that as anything other than a racial, ethnic aggravation?”
Mr Philipps also post comments about an article involving a man called Arnold Sube headlined “Immigrant who turned down ‘small’ five-bed house may have more kids”.
He offered £2,000 for the “first person to carve” the “piece of s*** into pieces”, the court heard.
On Tuesday, the aristocrat was found guilty of two counts of malicious communications at Westminster Magistrates Court and cleared of a third charge.