UK Man Arrested for Posting Photo of Himself Shooting a Shotgun While on Vacation in the US

Jon Richelieu-Booth, a 50-year-old self-employed IT contractor from England, was arrested by British police after returning home from a Florida vacation and posting a pic of himself awkwardly holding a Remington 870 shotgun while in the Sunshine State. 

Richelieu-Booth told the British newspaper The Telegraph that he was completely shocked by the “Orwellian” decision made by his local police department, the West Yorkshire Police, who first warned him about the picture he posted on his social media and then arrested him several hours later. 

Charges against the man changed over time. Richelieu-Booth was first charged with “possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence” and even stalking after he posted the now infamous photo. However, the charges were later dropped. 

Another charge of posting “any writing/sign/visible representation with intent to cause harassment/alarm or distress” was filed, but that was also dropped. Richelieu-Booth apparently then faced what the British legal system calls a “public order offence.” 

Thankfully, all charges now appear to have been dropped and Richelieu-Booth is considering making a formal complaint against his local constabulary. His business was severely impacted after he spent a night alone in jail and he is currently unable to work because police seized his cell phone and computers. 

“I will be filing a case against the police, I have been put through 13 weeks of hell, and I will be seeking quite a lot of damages,” Richelieu-Booth told the British media. 

Takeaways

Americans should thank God and our country’s Founders that we have the protections offered by the Second Amendment and, quite frankly, a few other Amendments. That’s what ensures that we don’t have to face the “13 weeks of hell” that this poor British subject was forced to endure. 

Over the years, I have spent time at the range with dozens of tourists from all over the world, including some extended family members from Germany who had never even touched a real gun. They all reacted the same. 

They were immediately bedazzled by our freedoms, especially the Second Amendment, and they realized how off-putting their own countries’ strict laws and regulations actually were. Also, every single one of them wanted their own guns, especially the AR rifle. 

A few countries such as Argentina and Finland are changing their gun laws for the better, but they all have a long way to go to catch up. America leads the world with its personal freedoms, at least for now. But we must constantly be on guard to stop those who want to strip us of our freedoms solely because we may live in a state that supports their crazy deceptiveness.