The investigation, believed to be one of the first cases brought to court by Essex Police using the new Online Safety Act 2023, was launched in July last year after US authorities were alerted to threatening and abusive messages posted on videos across YouTube.
Tristan Ambrose, of Challinor, Harlow, had made comments focused on women, the Muslim community and people from the LGBTQ+ community.
Information was passed from the US, via Interpol, to the National Crime Agency in the UK, who then alerted detectives from Essex Police.
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Essex Police took over the investigation and quickly arrested 32-year-old Ambrose on suspicion of sending threatening communications between June 2023 and July 2024.
Ambrose had posted a series of comments on the video sharing platform. These posts conveyed a threat of serious physical harm to people and were attached to videos which had been seen by a number of users, with one video being viewed more than 400,000 times.
During interview Ambrose said that he was “rage baiting” online, which he told officers involved him making comments on videos which upset him as he wanted to make people feel worse than him.
Ambrose went on to tell officers he was a “coward” and not a threat to anyone, but acknowledged that his comments would cause members of the public distress or concern.
He was charged with sending communication threatening death or serious harm, sending a communication conveying a threatening message and possession of a Class B drug.
He admitted all three offences when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on January 29 and, at Colchester Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday, he was sentenced to four months in prison for each of the communication offences, to run consecutively.
There was no separate penalty in connection with the possession of a Class B drug, which the court ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.
He was ordered to pay court costs.
Detective Inspector Karen Knibbs said: “We worked closely with our NCA colleagues and the authorities in the USA to bring this offender before the courts.
“The abhorrent messages Ambrose was posting online were breaking the law and were aimed at certain communities with clear intent to cause those reading them real anguish and concern.
“Hiding behind a computer screen will not protect you from prosecution. We will not tolerate this type of hateful rhetoric and we will ensure that those who use the internet to spread fear and intimidation are held accountable for their actions.
“I would urge anyone who sees this type of abuse online, or receives it personally, to report it.”
