Tik Tok iInfluencer guilty over 'grossly offensive' videos

Fiona Ryan, 40, of Laverstock Road, pleaded not guilty to four charges relating to videos she posted on TikTok. The videos, which were found to be "grossly offensive", were posted between March 4 and April 18 2024.

Ryan accepted that she posted the videos but contested that they were "grossly offensive".

Witness James Nathan described Ryan's TikTok videos, some of which were played to the court, as "highly threatening".

Mr Nathan said: "There's been a lot of these videos. This one talks about Nazis or Yahu Nazi. The confirmation of Jews and Nazis I guess is the main thing in that."

Ryan spouts "Jew hate" in the video according to Mr Nightingale.

Directed to Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ryan said: "Go back to Poland dude. Go back to Poland before I find you."

"Israel can't just bomb children. That's what they want to do, don't they? They get off on it," Ryan continued.

Second witness, Victoria Morson, is a neighbour of Fiona Ryan. On April 3, she heard "singing and music" from Ryan's house, which was also being livestreamed to TikTok.

"I started hearing I wear my antisemitic badge with pride song and I thought 'no, that can't be'," said Miss Morson.

Fiona Ryan was singing this song to the tune of 'if you're happy and you know it'.

The song says: "I will wear my antisemite badge with pride.

Fiona Ryan has been found guilty (Image: Fiona Ryan)

"Cus it is a badge of honour if you think that I'm a rotter because I won't support your genocide."

Third witness, Adam Morris, comes from a family of Ashkenazi Jews and reported on an "antisemitic joke" made by Ryan - "the Jews putting gas into gas lighting since 1948".

"My father's side of my family, we lost everyone other than my grandfather. Anything joking about the holocaust I find it absolutely sickening."

The fourth and final witness, Alexandra Boyd, told the court that Ryan's posts made her feel "threatened and anxious".

In a police interview on April 22, Ryan stood by her comment 'Nazi Yahu' and said that she calls David Cameron 'Dodgy Dave' and Joe Biden 'Genocide Joe'.

She also said Israel is a "not real country", that it is an "occupied land by white European men" and that calling it Israel is offensive to some people.

The trial took place at Salisbury Magistrates' Court (Image: Newsquest)

She referenced her humour to be like that of Ricky Gervais.

"If you find it offensive, you need to toughen up to be honest," she said.

In court, Ryan was asked "Do you agree that in that record that you sing you suggest the Jewish religion is a lie?" by Mr Nightingale.

Ryan responded: "I was talking about the state of Israel. The rights to live in Israel not being true. I was talking about Israel not being the place for Jewish people but that they should feel free to live anywhere in the world.

"I actually think Israel existing is antisemitic. Jewish people should be free to live anywhere in the world, not just Israel."

She added that she couldn't understand why people would find that grossly offensive, "given what Israel is doing at the moment, bombing schools and hospitals."

She referred to herself as a "keen political analyst, adding that the "vast majority" of her content shows she "feels very strongly about freedom of speech"

She said: "most of my content falls under freedom of speech and if any of that has upset people, then I am truly sorry".

At a trial on September 4 at Salisbury Magistrates' Court, Ryan was found to be guilty of all four charges.

She has been imposed under four bail conditions: only use internet-enabled devices for the purpose of internet banking, non-work emails or for childcare and schools; not to post on any form of social media at all; not to contact Victoria Morson and her family and not to go to Victoria Morson's home address.

 Ryan will be sentenced on October 15