© Jon Richelieu-BoothJon Richelieu-Booth faced a months-long police investigation after posting this photograph on LinkedIn from a holiday in Florida
He said he has been stunned by the 'very Orwellian' conduct of West Yorkshire Police throughout the matter and now intends to make a complaint against the force.
"I thought 1984 was a book, not an instruction manual," he said.
West Yorkshire Police initially said it "wouldn't be appropriate to comment" given there may be a formal complaint but have subsequently provided a statement confirming it had investigated the matter after the publication of The Yorkshire Post's story was followed up by the Daily Telegraph .
Recent figures have revealed that police nationally are making 30 arrests a day over 'offensive' posts on social media - with West Yorkshire Police second only to the Metropolitan Police for making such arrests.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said while he understands the police have a duty to investigate complaints, there was nothing to justify how the force handled this issue. He said the complaint against him was linked to an ongoing business dispute.
He said that on August 13 he had posted a picture of himself on LinkedIn holding a shotgun while on a private homestead with friends during a holiday in Florida.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said the LinkedIn message, which has been seen by The Yorkshire Post, contained nothing he considered threatening, with the picture attached to a lengthy post about his day and work activities.
But a police officer later visited his home to warn him that concerns had been raised about the post. "I was told to be careful what I say online and I need to understand how it makes people feel," he said.
Mr Richelieu-Booth said officers then returned to his home shortly after 10pm on August 24 and arrested him. "If they really believed I had a shotgun, surely they would have kicked my door in at 3am with armed officers."
A bail document seen by The Yorkshire Post referred to an allegation of possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, and a further allegation of stalking.
As he was being arrested, Mr Richelieu-Booth said he offered to show officers geolocation data to prove the picture was not taken in the UK, but said he was told that was "not necessary".
He said he was held overnight in a cell before being interviewed about the Florida photograph and a separate image of a house he had also shared online.
He said he had never visited the house and that the picture had been taken by another individual, who has since confirmed that to police in an email which has been seen by The Yorkshire Post. The other individual said the photograph related to a legitimate business matter.
He was initially released on bail until late October.
He said police officers then visited his property on three further occasions before he was re-arrested in October for allegedly breaching his bail conditions.
He was not charged for any breach of bail conditions. Mr Richelieu-Booth was told the firearm and stalking allegations would not progress but was charged with a public order offence relating to what he understands was a different social media post on August 18.
He said he is not clear what post he was being charged in relation to and does not recall being questioned by police about any specific post made on that date.
He 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'. The offence carries a potential prison sentence of up to six months.
But on November 18, one day after The Yorkshire Post had applied to attend the court hearing remotely, the CPS said the case was being discontinued "because there is not enough evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction".
On November 19, new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood made a speech to senior police officers stating there had been "egregious examples of disproportionate arrests" over social media posts which "raise questions around police decision-making".
Mr Richelieu-Booth said while he was greatly relieved the case would not progress, his reputation in his local community has been damaged by repeated police visits to his house while he had been left unable to do his job as a self-employed IT contractor because the force seized his phone and computers.
"I have not been able to sleep, I've lived in fear of a knock at my door for the last three months. I haven't spoken to my neighbours for four months. It has damaged my ability to run my business.
"It was a massive overreach by the police."
The Yorkshire Post has seen an email from one of Mr Richelieu-Booth's American friends who was with him at the time he used the gun in a picture he had posted on LinkedIn.
The friend wrote of the situation: "This is unbelievable! The UK is utterly lost.
"You were arrested for picking up and taking instruction on shooting a gun in America, with the full permission of the person who owns the gun, shooting at a cardboard box, for fun and education?
"This is utterly insane, not to mention unjust. You are telling me that just the physical act of a citizen of the UK TOUCHING a firearm in another country is now a crime? What the hell has gone wrong with the UK? This is beyond madness."
Mr Richelieu-Booth said that while he was under investigation, there were multiple police visits to his house and neighbours - with the situation causing him considerable stress at a point where he was also dealing with an inquest into the deaths of his parents, who had both died in a car crash in 2023.
"I had to recreate all of my evidence for the inquest from memory because they had seized all of my devices. I shouldn't have been put in that position."
He said he believes his situation has parallels to the recent arrest of comedy writer Graham Linehan over social media posts and makes him no longer trust the police.
"I've always believed in truth and justice and stood up for the police and believed they are doing an important job of keeping order. Now I have no faith in the police.
"I see a lot of parallels with the Graham Linehan case. This is 1984 writ large.
"I don't believe this would have happened under the Tories, not that they were blameless. I'm just glad my mum and dad did not live to see this."
Following the publication of The Yorkshire Post's story on Friday, West Yorkshire Police provided a statement about the case on Saturday which mentions multiple posts.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson 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."
Mr Richelieu-Booth said in response to the police statement that he was only questioned by officers about the shotgun post but provided links to two similar earlier LinkedIn posts which included him pictured with guns from the Florida trip. He does not believe the offence he was charged with can relate to either of the earlier posts as they were not from the August 18 date stated in the now discontinued charge.
West Yorkshire Police was contacted for further comment.
Reader Comments
I suspect this is a piece of indoctrination propaganda, trying to implant the idea "Don't even think of resisting us, don't even think of armed insurgeny !" into the heads of the gullible public.
I have seen British tabloids making up more dramatic stories out of whole cloth.
Clearly the Starmer government, but the policy has to be stated somewhere and needs to be posted for all UK citizens to see. Or the "chain of command" becomes the chains on the people.
I can only imagine the shit storm I could be looking at if I had posted it on social media. Thankfully I got out of that system over 10 years ago.
I think it's right that children should be taught about guns and gun safety. After all from what I'm seeing in the MSM and other places, the crooks are often more heavily armed than the police. Normal Garda (Police) in Ireland are armed with bad language, a night stick and a foul attitude (not all of them though, there's still a few good ones) while your basic foreign plant is armed with a machete.....Dublin has fallen.
Comes from sound advice from my grandparents: Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
Truly mind boggling.
As for "white privilege", growing up in Ireland in the 70's compared to today was probably better. So much fun from a stick and a stone. From cowboys and indians to cops and robbers, all with a stick, sensibly fashioned though . Life was simple and my kids have never experienced the writing on the frost on the inside of the bedroom window before going to school.....oh how we have fallen.
-- On another side: Who will defend Brittanica when there is noone left that can handle a gun, ha ha ha?
Has King Charles become the new King George...?