By FARRAH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
A LOCAL singer who posted a video making death threats against police officers and calling for the government to be overthrown was fined $450 on Friday.
Kenneth Williams, 38, appeared before Deputy Chief Magistrate Andrew Forbes charged with causing public terror and using violent and obscene language. The prosecution argued that Williams used threatening and violent language on an electronic media to cause terror on August 6.
The court heard that the defendant was arrested in connection with a video he posted on social media where he made death threats toward the police. In the footage, Williams could be heard saying “Kill the police” and “let’s overthrow the (expletive) government”. During an interview with police, Williams admitted to uploading the video and was subsequently charged with the offences.
During the hearing, he was represented by attorney Tamara Taylor-Storr. She told the magistrate her client was remorseful for his actions and insisted the offence he committed was “out of character for him”. She also said Williams had gotten “caught up” after watching racist videos on television and had become “overwhelmed by (the) racist actions” of some law enforcement officers. Mrs Taylor-Storr also said when Williams’ spoke about “overthrowing the government” in the video, he was trying to tell people to “stop complaining” because they wouldn’t be able to.
After accepting Williams’ guilty plea, Magistrate Forbes noted there were a number of adults who felt they could “engage in diatribe” on social media without recognising the consequences of their words. He also said Williams’ actions were serious because he is a public figure and people who follow him could potentially “take his words to heart and find it necessary to act on them”.
As a result, he fined Williams $300 for causing public terror and another $150 for using violent language. If Williams fails to pay the fines, he will spend three months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
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