Racist troll from Glossop jailed over online hate posts

Samuel Doyle, 40, admitted five counts of distributing or publishing written material to stir up racial hatred

An internet troll whose house was adorned with Nazi flags, fridge magnets and a portrait of Adolf Hitler has been jailed.

Samuel Doyle, 40, called for the killing of LGBTQ+ and Jewish people in online posts.

Officers then searched his home in Highfield Road, Glossop, and found fascist and racist manifestos and books, Derbyshire Police said.

He was jailed for three years at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.

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

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

'Posts are abhorrent'

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

Det Insp Chris Brett, of 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."