John Lefevre launched a foul-mouthed tirade outside a church
A man livestreamed himself embarking upon a foul-mouthed tirade outside a church on Facebook.
John Lefevre has been warned to expect an immediate prison sentence over his vile rant, in which he called a disabled man a “one armed c***” and accused another victim of having “guns and bombs” in a suitcase.
The 35-year-old, of Albert Road in Widnes, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court via video link to HMP Altcourse this afternoon, Tuesday, charged with racially-aggravated harassment. He spoke to confirm his name before this count was put to him, to which he replied: “Guilty on my video.”
The charge concerns an incident on August 5 this year, which saw Lefevre post a Facebook Live video of himself confronting a group of men and women stood outside Trinity Methodist Church on Peel House Lane in the Cheshire town as it was hosting its weekly support session for refugees and asylum seekers. In the footage, seen by the ECHO, he was shown pointing his mobile phone’s camera in the face of one man while demanding: “Why are you over here lad? Why are you over here lad?”
Lefevre then turns to a man carrying a pink suitcase and asks: “What you got? Guns and bombs in that?”
He thereafter continues: “See that you dirty, greasy c***. I’ve got a picture of you. Didn’t the police let you off with something yesterday? You’re a dirty little b****rd.”
Lefevre is then captured saying to one older woman: “Why are you protecting these? Give me one clear answer. Why do you not look after our homeless that’s begging on our streets?”
He subsequently tells one man “don’t you dare smile at me you dirty, greasy b****rd”, before shouting to another: “You, you one armed c***. What have you done?”
Lefevre was also filmed saying: “Widnes is looking for you. F***ing dirty b****rd. Take all the pictures you want of me. Don’t look after any of our own. Widnes is looking for you lad, f***ing screaming in kids’ faces, banging on little kids’ windows, you f***ing horrible b****rd. Every f***ing one of yous. Why are they here?”
Carmel Wilde, defending, told the court today that her client “has various mental health issues” and “does have some previous convictions”. Lefevre will now be sentenced on September 24.
Recorder David Knifton KC said: “This was a disgraceful incident, not only racially abusive but also abusive to a person about his physical disability. In my view, this is a case which will call for immediate custody. I want the defendant to be under absolutely no illusions about the likely outcome in this case.
“I have read a letter from his mother which says he is not racist. It is patently nonsense. Not only did he video exactly what he did but he then uploaded it to Facebook, where it attracted further comments of a racist nature. All of this was taking place a week after the tragic events in Southport. We know exactly what sort of behaviour that has led to.”
Remanding Lefevre into custody and adjourning the case to enable the preparation of a pre-sentence report and to allow for a victim personal statement to be obtained, the judge added: “This is case which, in my judgement, fully calls for an immediate custodial sentence in light of your disgraceful behaviour outside the Methodist church in Widnes.”
Wearing a Berghaus zip-up top, the defendant began ranting “you just want to hope that lad doesn’t do anything” before being placed on mute by the court clerk.
