CPS will not charge Stamford Hill ‘Jew Trap’ video creator
The Crown Prosecution Service said that 'there was no realistic prospect of conviction based on evidential difficulties', a decision condemned by Campaign Against Antisemitism
A social media content creator who filmed videos in Stamford Hill where he threw coins on the ground and described it as making “a Jew trap” will not face any charges, after the Crown Prosecution Service said there was “no realistic prospect of conviction”.
Harry Marsh, known on social media as “Penofein”, had published a series of videos on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok which had generated millions of views online. Marsh, who is believed to be based in Sussex, had produced the videos in Stamford Hill, known for having the largest strictly Orthodox community in Europe.
In one clip, coins were thrown onto the pavement and described as a “Jew trap”, with passers-by filmed to see if they pick them up. In another, a visibly Jewish man is approached and asked: “Excuse me sir, would you like a pound or should I double it and give it to the next person?” – before the videographer walks away muttering: “Well, well, well.”
Other videos include clips titled “Rizzing up Jewish women”, in which a woman is approached for her phone number and continues to be filmed after declining, as well as footage of individuals being followed, while the person filming calls out “Here boy” while holding money.
However, the Metropolitan police have now released a statement, saying that “at around 12:00hrs on Friday, 17 April police arrested a 19-year-old man in the Havering area on suspicion of racially or religiously-aggravated harassment. It follows reports of allegedly antisemitic social media videos being filmed in Hackney.
“A file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service in August. After consideration, the CPS decided on Saturday, 24 October that the case did not meet the evidential threshold for any charges to be brought.
“The man has been informed that no further action will be taken and the investigation has been closed.”
The CPS told Jewish News that “We take all allegations of antisemitic crimes extremely seriously and recently updated our legal guidance to speed up charging decisions in such cases.
“In this case, having carefully considered potential offences, our review determined there was no realistic prospect of conviction based on evidential difficulties, including unidentifiable witnesses.”
In April Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) condemned Marsh, saying that “this user has built a following by subjecting Jewish people to antisemitic pranks. To our knowledge, he doesn’t live locally, so he literally travels to Jewish areas in order to racially abuse them and excite his deranged followers.
“It says a lot about our youth that this sort of behaviour engages them. The police have prevented him from filming in commercial establishments, but they have brushed off complaints about his racist harassment of Jews.”
Following the declaration from CPS that they would not seek to charge Marsh, a CAA spokesperson said: “This is a content creator who has built a following by subjecting Jewish people to Jew-baiting pranks, which is why we exposed him and reported him to the police. The CPS is falling back on its usual habits, dismissing antisemitic crime and failing to recognise its impact on the Jewish community. No wonder over three quarters of British Jews do not think that the CPS does enough to protect British Jews.
“But where they refuse to defend our community, we will, as ever, step in. Our lawyers are examining our options.”