English man charged for Facebook threats against Muslims

A man will soon appear in an English court after allegedly posting messages on Facebook threatening an “Oslo-style” massacre against Muslims in the city of South Tyneside.

Kenneth Holden allegedly used Facebook to post racist and hateful posts directed at the northeast England city’s Bangladeshi community. He is charged with two counts of “sending offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages or matter” and is slated to appear in a South Tyneside Magistrate’s Court on Sept. 25.

According to police, Holden threatened to carry out a pipe bomb attacks in the Bangladeshi neighborhood of South Shields, according to messages posted in April on the social networking site.

Holden, 30, also made references to the bomb attack and massacre last year in Oslo, Norway by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik. A total of 77 people died in those two attacks.

According to a screen shot captured in April by The Sun, Holden posted on Facebook saying he had a “pipe bomb just 4 ocean road,” referring to a street where many Indian restaurants are located. “Give me a gun and [I’ll] do u all Oslo style,” he wrote.

The suspect reportedly has ties to an English Defense League splinter group called the North West Infidels. The EDL is a well-known far-right, racist organization that orchestrates numerous anti-Muslim parades in England.

A police spokesman told the Shields Gazette that “racial incitement” will not be tolerated on the Internet and they take such incidents “extremely seriously.”

Photo via Gavin Lynn/Flickr