EXCLUSIVE: Man charged over anti-Semitic tweet to Luciana Berger MP

A man has been charged over an anti-Semitic tweet targeting the Liverpool Wavertree MP Luciana Berger.

Garron Helm, 21, of Thomson Road, Litherland has been charged with sending an offensive/indecent/obscene message, Merseyside Police told the Jewish News. He is due to appear before Liverpool magistrates on 20 October.

It’s the first time charges have been brought in the UK over an anti-Semitic tweet against a high-profile figure and possibly against any individual.

The case relates to tweet sent on 7 August from an account called Aethelwulf. It showed a photograph of Berger with a Holocaust-era yellow star superimposed on her forehead and the wording: “You can always count on a Jew to show their true colours eventually.”

The tweet allegedly carried hashtags for Labour, Liverpool and ‘Hitler was right’.

A police spokesman said: “Merseyside Police can confirm a man has been charged in relation to an offensive tweet that was sent to a 33-year-old woman on 8 August.”

A spokesman for the Commmunity Security Trust said: “This is a very important case as it should demonstrate that the racist abuse of individuals via twitter is liable to proper prosecution.”