A far-right troll who called for mosques to be burnt down in a series of vile Facebook rants has been jailed.
Paul Shelton used an online alias to post hate-filled extreme right-wing views on social media.
The rants in October 2018 included two coded messages on Facebook that called for the burning of mosques.
Screenshots of the 51-year-old's posts were captured and sent to police who arrested him at his home, in Buxton Road, Furness Vale, near Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, that same month.
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Shelton was later charged with two counts of publishing threatening written material intending to stir up religious hatred.
He initially pleaded not guilty after appearing at Derby Crown Court in January 2020, but he later changed his plea and admitted the charges.
At Derby Crown Court on Tuesday, Judge Shaun Smith sentenced Shelton to 10 months in prison with a further 10 months on licence.
Shelton was also handed a five-year criminal behaviour order – meaning he must provide police with details of any electronic devices that he owns and provide passwords to the devices.
He is also banned from creating social media profiles in any name other than his own.
Det Insp Graham Prince, who leads the Derbyshire team at Counter-Terrorism Policing East Midlands, said: "The language used by Paul Shelton in his posts were nothing short of horrifying.
"We have seen on an all too frequent basis the way in which online postings such as this can be taken into the physical world with absolutely devastating consequences – and it is clear from the sentence imposed that the courts have taken this matter very seriously.
"This is not a victimless crime, or one that is any less serious simply because it was posted on Facebook.
"There should be no place for this type of hate speech and as a force, and region, we will do all we can to ensure that where people cross the line from debate into hate then they are rightly brought to justice."
