Suspended Labour councillor Ricky Jones was acquitted on Friday of encouraging violent disorder, after a jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court deliberated for about half an hour before returning a not-guilty verdict. The 58-year-old Dartford representative faced the charge over comments he made at an anti-racism rally in Walthamstow, east London, on 7 August 2024. During the event, organised to counter a planned far-right march outside the Waltham Forest Immigration Bureau, Jones called right-wing protesters “disgusting Nazi fascists” and said “we need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all,” while drawing a finger across his throat. Prosecutor Ben Holt told jurors the speech used “inflammatory, rabble-rousing language” in what police described as a “tinderbox” atmosphere. Jones, who denied one count of encouraging violent disorder, apologised in a police interview, saying the remarks were made “in the heat of the moment” and were not meant to be taken literally. Jones was suspended by the Labour Party the day after the video of his speech surfaced and remains under party investigation. He has served on Dartford Council since 2019 and at the time of the rally was employed as a full-time official at the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association. The party had yet to comment on the verdict at the time of publication.