Bizarre reason man in UK has just been arrested for holding firearm more than 4,000 miles away in US
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: LinkedIn/Jon Richelieu-Booth
A man from Yorkshire, in the UK, was arrested after he posted an image on social media of him holding a gun in the US.
Jon Richelieu-Booth shared a photo of him holding a gun while on holiday in Florida earlier this year.
But after posting the image on LinkedIn, he had an unexpected visit from a police officer at his home, he told The Yorkshire Post.
The officer cautioned him about what he had been posting online and how it could impact other people.
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However, police later returned and Richelieu-Booth was arrested, spending the night in a prison cell before being questioned over the picture and another, separate, image.
Bail documentation allegedly mentioned accusations of firearm possession intended to frighten, as well as stalking charges relating to an image of a property.
According to Richelieu-Booth, he tried to prove that the photo had been taken while on holiday in the US.
The IT consultant was released on bail, during which he was visited on three separate occasions, before the allegations related to stalking and illegal possession of a firearm were dropped.
However, he was still charged with a public order offense over a separate image.
While Richelieu-Booth was set to appear at Bradford Magistrates' Court earlier this month, the case was dropped due to insufficient evidence.
"I have not been able to sleep, I’ve lived in fear of a knock at my door for the last three months," he said. "I haven’t spoken to my neighbors for four months. It has damaged my ability to run my business.
"I've been put through 13 weeks of hell.
"When did we go from a society where you can have a discussion with somebody and go, 'You know what? I don't like your opinion. I'm going to disagree with you, but I'm not going to tell you why, I'm going to call the police'.
"When did we get so thin-skinned as a society?"
Richelieu-Booth has also claimed he is planning to pursue legal proceedings against West Yorkshire Police, adding: "I will be filing a case against the police.
"I will be seeking quite a lot of damages."
West Yorkshire Police told Metro: "Police received a complaint of stalking involving serious alarm or distress, relating partly to social media posts, several of which included pictures of a male posing with a variety of firearms which the complainant took to be a threat.
"Police investigated and charged a man with a public order offence but the case was then discontinued by the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)."
UNILAD has also reached out to the force for comment.