A 33-year-old disabled man who placed a hoax device at the east Belfast office of the Alliance Party, and who also threatened to kill two party members including local MP Naomi Long, was handed a three-year sentence on Monday.
Sending Jonathan Ginn to prison, Judge Gordon Kerr QC said that both offences – which were set against the backdrop of the loyalist flag protests – were "directed against elected public representatives and were designed to threaten and intimidate them from performing the role they had been elected to perform."
Belfast Crown Court heard that the incidents left both Naomi Long and her party colleague and east Belfast MLA Chris Lyttle fearful and stressed. In Mrs Long's case, she also had to step up her personal security.
Ginn, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is from Dunraven Court in Belfast, was linked to both the hoax bomb alert and making the threatening calls by his distinctive walk.
He was told he will spend half of the sentence in prison, with the remaining 18 months spent on supervised licence upon his release.
During the sentencing, the court heard that the two incidents committed by Ginn were carried out in October 2013 during a period known as the flag protest. Judge Kerr said that during this period, "sections of the community were incensed at the policy of the Alliance Party in relation to the public flag displays."
Ginn – described by his barrister as “a person who plainly was exploited” – was captured on CCTV placing a hoax device at the Alliance Party’s office in the early hours of October 2, 2013. Six days later, the device was discovered and the office was cleared. Following an examination, the device was subsequently declared a hoax.
Several days later, he made a call from the phone box in Portadown to the same office, telling a member of staff "just to let you know that Naomi Long and Chris Lyttle are going to get executed." When CCTV was viewed, the caller was identified as Ginn due to his distinctive walk.
Judge Kerr read statements to the court from both Mrs Long and Mr Lyttle. Giving a history of the campaign against the Alliance Party, Mr Lyttle voiced significant fears for both his own and his family’s safety. Regarding the hoax bomb alert, the politician said that particular incident caused him to be “unhappy, fearful and stressed.”
Judge Kerr also revealed that Naomi Long MP said the campaign resulted in her ability to represent those who elected being disrupted. The hoax bomb incident, she said, caused her “to become even more worried” for both herself and her colleagues.
The east Belfast positing added: “I had to have permanent security at my home and workplace and was advised not to travel alone or by taxi.”
Prior to sentencing Ginn, the Judge spoke of the serious nature of placing a bomb hoax and issuing threats to kill.
Judge Kerr commented: “Both of these offences were directed against elected public representatives and were designed to threaten and intimidate them from performing the role they had been elected to perform. They were intended to and did disrupt both their public and private lives.
“The Court must not punish this defendant [Ginn] for the whole campaign conducted against the victims, but equally the court cannot ignore the full picture.”
Acknowledging that despite his cerebral palsy, Ginn had a “significant work history” and came before the court with no criminal convictions, Judge Kerr said the “serious offences” required a custodial sentence.