Stephen Graham (67), of Islandmagee Road in Whitehead, committed the offence on June 7 this year. The charge was that 'without lawful authority or reasonable excuse had with you in a public place, namely Islandmagee Road, Whitehead, an imitation firearm'. The accused appeared in the dock at Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty.
A video of the flag incident had previously been circulated widely on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to NorthernIrelandWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. A prosecutor said that around 9.
20pm on Friday June 7 this year police received an online report from the defendant in which he said: 'I objected to a loyalist flag outside my front door. I was faced by intimidating behaviour and filmed when I removed the flag.’ The prosecutor said a video clip was later posted on the social media site 'X' which showed a male aged in his 60s matching the defendant's description "climb up a ladder leaning against a lamp post".
The video was downloaded by police and, the court heard, "the male on the ladder then produces what appears to be a black handgun from his back and held it by the handle with the barrel pointing skyward and showed it to the person who was filming the incident. The male then appeared to tuck the handgun back into his rear waistband". Police identified the location and called at the address.
The prosecutor said the defendant was arres.
