Royal Barnes was today jailed at the Old Bailey for five years and four months for inciting terrorism overseas, contrary to section 59 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and three counts of disseminating terrorist publications, contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006. He pleaded guilty to these offences on 12 February 2014. His wife, Rebekah Dawson, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of disseminating terrorist publications and was today jailed for 20 months.
Mari Reid, of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division, said:
“While the whole country was unified in grief and horror in the wake of Fusilier Lee Rigby’s death last year, Royal Barnes and his wife sought to take advantage of the situation to promote their extremist views. Royal Barnes went further, using the savage attack on Fusilier Rigby to encourage others, via Facebook, to murder British, French and American soldiers.
“These were not throwaway comments from a thoughtless individual, but the hardened beliefs of an extremist.
“We pride ourselves in Britain on allowing the right to free speech to flourish. But the vile views posted online by Royal Barnes and Rebekah Dawson justified and glorified terrorist attacks, and tried to foster hatred in our communities.”
