Should Count Dankula Go To Jail for Nazi Dog Video?

A Scottish YouTuber was convicted of a hate crime and faces jail time after video of him teaching his girlfriend’s dog the Nazi salute went viral.

In April 2016, Markus Meechan, aka Count Dankula, uploaded this video to his channel, which shows his girlfriend’s dog responding positively to several verbal cues, including “Gas the Jews” and “Sieg Heil.” Watch —

The video is still live on Count Dankula’s channel, though comments, sharing and other features have been disabled. It’s titled “M8 yer dugs a Nazi” and Meechan says he wanted to turn his girlfriend’s dog, Buddha, into the “least cute thing [he] could think of.” Meechan has always defended himself, arguing that he shouldn’t be in legal trouble for an offensive joke. He said: “I don’t actually hate Jewish people and the video was just an insight into the darker side of my humour, a prank to annoy my girlfriend and that I did not intend for people, other than people who knew my comedy, to see the video.”

Meechan will be sentenced later in April, but in his first tweet since the conviction, he said: “While awaiting sentencing, Court has ordered that I meet with a court social worker for an assessment as to whether or not a Restriction Of Liberty Order will be placed on me. This would involve a GPS tracking device being attached to me and me being placed under house arrest.”

He also says that the context and intent behind the joke should matter – more than just the content. And, plenty of freedom of speech advocates out there agree.

The pug video, however, wasn’t Dankula’s first foray into offensive comedy. One of his most popular videos is this parody of the Animaniac’s “Nations of the World” song with offensive descriptions of each country. Watch —

Because of the nature of his case, Meechan has drawn to him some unsavory types. For example, Meechan was supported in court this week by activist Tommy Robinson, author of the book “Mohammed’s Koran: Why Muslims Kill for Islam.” And Meechan and Robinson both appeared on InfoWars with Alex Jones to discuss the verdict.

Do you think Count Dankula should go to jail over his Nazi Pug video? Let us know in the comments below.

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