Glaswegian arrested for pro-riot Facebook posts A Scottish teenager has been arrested for alleged incitement after posting pro-disorder statements on Facebook. Glasgow has been mostly untouched by the disturbances despite the dangerous incitement of 16-year-old Alexander McQuarrie from Cessnock. Strathclyde Police said the arrest sent a strong message "to anyone who is …
wee pillock advocates rioting from his bedroom by posting "lol lets aw goan a riot likes" nonsense on Facebook - he's arrested, Strathclyde Cops' PR team names him so they can act butch and you think he deserves a lynching.
You're a grownup who advocates murder by posting nonsense on The Register and you deserve...?
... or are you putting on a special show just for our entertainment?
Lynching somebody for theft would be (1) murder, and (2) murder.
These isles did away with stuff like mob lynching over a thousand years ago, you know magna carta and all that.
Maybe you prefer those geographies where people are still stoned for adultery, whipped for giving the overlord lip, and have their heads cut off for insulting the local deity?
Paris, because seriously, are you that air-headed?
In fact it's hardly a capital of anything. Still, the view across the Tay from way up close to the town center is nice. It's like they built it there for the view.
I guess the thing to loot would be the university, which is an awesome place, as well as having ... is it seven bars now? Plenty, anyway. Aside from that, most of the expensive stuff is located out of town in retail parks.
"the expensive stuff is located out of town in retail parks."
Apart from not really being true, that could be applied to literally any medium size city in the UK.
"the thing to loot would be the university, which is an awesome place"
Yet another person who has visited Dundee uni and therefore knows all about Dundee.
I thought this old colony of the United States would keep honoring the 1st Amendment, in particular Free Speech.
I say, free Alexander McQuarrie! Like, right now.
And let everyone express their views freely on Facebook, Twitter and everywhere else. Even if this means allowing pro-riot posts. Hell, was there any arrest for an anti-abortion post or racist post?
You are an obvious troll, and undoubtedly a bit of a cock too.
So I'll merely point out that the first amendment does not allow the right to free speech "involv(ing) danger to the public peace and to the security of the state". See Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
But I'll bite.
Not being the US renders the First Amendment utterly irrelevant. If you are interested Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights covers this, saying
“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression” but then “The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.”
Whilst I am in full rant about it - why do all the txt mssgs I see reported about these riots refer to the Police as “The Feds”?
What I really wanted to say was – we are not the US. We have no first amendment. We have no formal constitution. Our bail system is different. Our policing system is different. Our caution is different. Our prosecution system is different. Just because people say things in films that may be correct about the US it does not necessarily follow it will be correct about us.
If what this kid did was incitement, then surely picking on a teenager in front of a crowd the day after rioting could also be classed as incitement?
If this had all been a legitimate protest then the actions of the Police would be commended. As it is I know a lot of people who think they should have been putting the fear of $deity into these little scumbags who think it's funny to burn people in their homes.
the solution is actually obvious. copy the French! innit?
I've been in Paris/Lyon/Strasbourg for a few 'riots'/union protests/tourism and down every side street are hidden numerous vans stuffed with CRS (Compagnie républicaine de sécurité/republican security company) who are basically a horde of Rugby Teams with guns and big batons. At the slightest sign of a Facebook or Blackberry inspired emute they would hit and kick hell out of anyone near the initial incident, agitator or bystander alike. They are highly mobile and vicious. There are about 14000 of them to cover the whole of France although in summer they do also act as beach lifeguards!
There seem to be a lot of judgemental posts on here, but I can't find the actual tweet listed. Do we know whether it was serious or a joke? Or is it a call for vigilanteism now, and then a campaign to free him after it is suspected of being a joke in a months time?
He started up a facebook group called "Glasgow Riot Friday 12th August 2011". After an initial visit from the bizzies, he posted "Police came to ma door there. How glad are you that they never charged me or anything they never said much and are not following it up, they have more 'serious issues' to deal with. A hope aw youse wankers that snitched DIE". He was later arrested. Lolzorz.
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Probably what he said was just the sort of banter he'd have with his mates - with no comeback because no-one else is listening. Probably he just forgot the cops were listening this time.
So good that he got caught if the intent was serious, but bad if we end up living in a society where we have to worry about who's listening all the time. Of course, if you use Facebook, you've pretty much opted in to such a society anyway, so no sympathy from me.
He made a facebook page called:
"Let's start a riot in Glasgow"
which seems pretty clear that either (1) he is a dick (b) he wanted to start a riot or (iv) he is a facebook using dick who wanted to start a riot.
Police became aware of the page when members of the public alerted them - so this is not a fucking case of Plod sitting around social media eating deep fried doughnuts instead of
going out and catching rioters [who weren't actually rioting in Glasgy anyhow].
If some guy had posted a group on Facebook organising a terrorist attack and it later turned out that the police knew about the group on Facebook but had done nothing about it - you would all be screaming that the police were useless and should of done something.
The group on Facebook at first glance seemed to be serious enough - certainly serious enough that I reported it. There were many many links to the group flying around on Twitter under the #riot hashtag. In the same vane there are many many people posting pictures to Facebook of themselves with all the stuff they have stolen - and even people trying to organise sales for stuff they have stolen.
It has got to the point where it is difficult to distinguish between those who are trying to be funny and those who are actually involved.
However - regardless of whether the group was serious or not - *some* people could have decided to organise something based on the initial idea of the group.
Additionally having just heard the poor shop owner "reeves" - in complete shock at his store being burned to the ground after 100 years of being there, and the dumbstruck woman who was watching the partyshop burn knowing that there were 3 flats above it - but completely helpless to do anything - it was in very poor taste for someone to suggest starting a riot elsewhere.
I was in Glasgow last Saturday and you could hardly move down the main shopping streets. From the statue of Donald Dewar looking down the hill it seemed that the people were one solid mass,so a riot would only happen if it was a walking one,because I think if you started running you'd soon be coming to a grinding halt.
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