West Midlands Police in the United Kingdom, on August 3, detained a 15-year-old boy identified only as Fraser, for allegedly mocking a local politician, Simon Bennett, in social media posts, including one that photoshopped him into a rabbit.
Police officers stormed the teenager’s family home in the early hours of the day while he was asleep, collected his fingerprints, photograph and DNA sample. Two of the officers also searched his bedroom, while the boy was forced to hand over his mobile phone for a search by other officers. Four of the officers subsequently placed him in a cell.
The posts included criticism of Mr Bennett for attending council meetings in shorts, a T-shirt and trainers. Another featured an AI-generated image of the politician with rabbit ears, while a further post included a caption describing the politician’s appearance as that of a “rent boy”, The Telegraph reported on October 5.
The news outlet also reported that the politician sought advice from Wolverhampton Council, “and they thought it best to report it to the police”, adding that “the police thought it merited arresting him.”
The phrase the boy used to describe Mr Bennett’s appearance at public meetings is derogatory and commonly used in Britain to refer to male prostitutes.
The minor was detained for over two months, prompting his lawyers to threaten to file a civil suit against West Midlands Police over wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.
The teenager, a Reform UK activist, said his post “hit his nerve a bit”. He attributed his arrest to his political leanings, describing it as an attempt to silence him through the indiscriminate use of the police.
The Reform UK Wolverhampton leader, Councillor Celia Hibbert, told Fox News on October 7 that, “Up until now, we don’t know exactly what the charges he’s facing. We just hear that Fraser compared this councillor dressing like a “rent boy”.
“What’s the big deal? I’m thinking this is a joke when I went to get Fraser from the police station. I said what are you doing in the police station? He said I just got arrested. I said what did you do? He said the things I’m posting on social media. I said no. I said, dude, we don’t live in Nigeria, do you? You don’t get arrested by a politician because they don’t like what you’re saying.”