Jail for Castleford man who made antisemitic Facebook posts

Neal Lloyd asked for a copy of Mein Kampf when he was arrested for his Facebook posts

A man who "clearly hates Jews" has been jailed for inciting racial hatred after he posted antisemitic comments on Facebook.

Neal Lloyd, 61, was arrested over online posts relating to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

After arrest, Lloyd admitted he had strong opinions but was "entitled to his views and wouldn't hurt anyone".

Jailing him for 15 months at Leeds Crown Court, Judge Richard Mansell KC said Lloyd was a "Nazi sympathiser".

At the hearing on Friday afternoon, the court was told Lloyd posted nine comments to his public Facebook page between 7 and 19 October 2023.

His initial comments praised the actions of Hamas gunmen who crossed into Israel on 7 October and killed about 1,200 people.

'Utter nonsense'

He then went on to endorse the actions of Hitler during the Holocaust and called for the destruction of Israel, in what the judge described as "vile material".

Lloyd signed off his posts with the letters 'HH', which he claimed meant "haha".

However, Judge Mansell said this was "utter nonsense" and Lloyd "knew what he was doing", adding that it "clearly meant Heil Hitler".

The court heard that Lloyd, of St Andrew's Road in Castleford, was arrested by West Yorkshire Police at home on 20 October, after a complaint from a member of the public about his social media posts.

Searching his address, officers found a range of Nazi memorabilia, including a flag with a swastika, a bust of Hitler's head and various films and books.

As he was arrested, Lloyd admitted he had strong opinions but was "entitled to his views and wouldn't hurt anyone".

He said his posts were his "sense of humour" but asked officers for a copy of Mein Kampf, Hitler's autobiographical manifesto, when he was detained.

He admitted a charge of inciting racial hatred at a hearing on 19 April.

'Far too serious'

At his sentencing hearing, Lloyd said he made the posts after he became upset at what he had seen on the news.

Defence barrister Richard Canning, for Lloyd, argued his client was isolated from society, as he did not have friends or go out, and abused substances like crack cocaine.

He also suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and general ill health.

However, in his final remarks, Judge Mansell said he did not believe Lloyd's mental health played a part in his offence.

"You are a Nazi sympathiser that clearly hates Jews.

"My view is that you have precious little insight as to what you have done and regret that you have been caught.

"This case is far too serious for a suspended sentence and I believe imprisonment is necessary to deter you and others who might do the same," he said.