A man has escaped with a £250 fine after posting sectarian messages on Facebook.
Dean Boyd logged on to the social networking site on his 21st birthday on 25 August last year. It was during the loyal order marching season and the defendant lives in Co Antrim in Northern Ireland, where parades have degenerated into violence.
Boyd's post said: "Kill all taigs (Catholics)" and "F*** the Pope", a prosecutor told Coleraine Magistrates' Court.
The PSNI investigation was launched after Sinn Fein Assembly Member Daithi McKay complained to police and said he was concerned about his safety following a series of similar comments by others, which he felt were directed at him.
District judge Richard Wilson told Boyd: "I hope you realise how inappropriate and stupid your comments are.
"It is comments like this that excite and exacerbate any tensions within this community and we can well do without it."