A West Sussex man who used the name “Adolf Hitler” as his Apple ID has been put behind bars for hate crime offences. 

Tobias Powell, 32, was jailed for three years at a sentencing hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court, the Press Association reported.

He was convicted last month following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing’s southeast force (CTPSE). 

Powell was found guilty of four counts of hate crime offences after detectives searched his home in 2019 and uncovered white supremacist literature and hateful tweets from 2018.

He had shown his support for the proscribed group National Action, shared a picture of his Nazi tattoo and described murdered MP Joanne Cox as “an alleged open traitor”, CTPSE said. 

He had also “called for a civil war to stop the ethnic suicide of white people,” the force also said.

The court was told that Powell had posted a photo of his dog with a raised paw and included the caption “sieg heil”, according to the PA. Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, head of CTPSE, said evidence gathered during the probe revealed Powell had “some very unacceptable views.”

“We know there is a fine line between hate speech and terrorism. Showing support for terrorist organisations is not acceptable and if you do that, you should expect to be investigated by us,” she said.

Sussex Police’s Arun and Chichester district commander Jon Carter said the case “shows the importance of thorough investigation of any use of the Internet to spread hate and dangerous material.”

“The public can be reassured that there are systems in place to follow up all such reports, but it is also important to reassure local people that this was a very isolated matter for this area, and that however obnoxious Powell’s language was, there was no reference to or threat to the local community,” he added.