A trainee lawyer who says ‘violence works’ has urged angry members of the public to get revenge on council staff by visiting their homes late at night and even boasted of punching an official himself.
Louis Stead, from Islington, north London, offers his services via his self-titled website.
The father-of-one bragged that home visits leave officials ‘absolutely horrified and scared’, but claims he’s had council tax bills wiped using his sinister methods.
He made headlines in October when he was filmed refusing to wear a mask on an Easyjet flight while quoting British law on Egyptian soil.
A trainee lawyer (pictured, Louis Stead) has been slammed for urging angry members of the public to get ‘revenge’ on council officials by visiting their homes late at night and wearing balaclavas while being violent
Anti-harassment charity Paladin condemned his advice, which Mr Stead claims he’s given to around a dozen people already, saying it could lead to incidents akin to Jo Cox’s murder.
But the 31-year-old was unfazed and claimed officials ‘wouldn’t get injured if they did what they need to do’ and proclaims that ‘violence works’.
On the site’s homepage, Louis advises disgruntled citizens to visit official’s homes ‘last thing at night’ if threatening to publish their addresses doesn’t work.
He then explains how ‘police could take some time to arrive’ if the civil servants live in remote villages and that showing them they ‘have nowhere to hide’ should work.
He even gloated that he has punched someone before who ‘disobeyed’ what he had requested they do and claims it solved his problem.
The father-of-one bragged that home visits leave officials ‘absolutely horrified and scared’, but boasts he’s had council tax bills wiped using his sinister methods
Louis Stead, from Islington, north London, offers his services via his self-titled website
Despite Mr Stead maintaining his advice is to leave the doorstep when asked to, he openly advocates violence and says he isn’t worried about the potential actions of those he advices.
He says at least 12 people have taken his tips after contacting the site and admits he may hand out officials’ home addresses himself ‘if he feels passionate enough’ about the issue.
He boasted that people are unlikely to be caught even if they opt to smash car windows – particularly if they are ‘balaclava’d up or wearing dark clothing’.
Louis Stead, 31, was recorded arguing with EasyJet cabin crew on his return flight from Hurghada, Egypt, last month
He aims to join the bar in 2021 and says he only has a few exams left to do – claiming the Bar Standards Board ‘can’t stop him’ just because they disagree with what he’s doing.
Anti-stalking advice service Paladin slammed his free online help as ‘potentially dangerous’ and ‘irresponsible’, while the Jo Cox Foundation said they find any threats ‘unacceptable’.
The website has also been reported to police who confirmed it is being looked into by a local intelligence department.
Stead said: ‘Any public sector worker, in my view, works for me. I don’t work for them.
‘When you earn £100,000 per year of tax-payers’ money you must do a job in the right sort of way all of the time and not disregard, dismiss or pacify members of the public that pay your wages.
‘Public sector workers need to know their place in society, generally speaking, and also that decisions they make at work can follow them home, and they do.
‘Certainly if I’m involved with that, I obtain their home address and the buck stops with them in work or outside of work…If members of the civil service did as they need to do, people wouldn’t get injured and people wouldn’t be turning up at their homes.
‘The only time they need to worry is when they start failing in their job and their duty to the taxpayers who pay their wages, and in some situations they should be very worried.
‘If people do [visit officials’ houses] it will cause a massive shake up in how the members of the public are treated and they’ll be treated better as a consequence.’
Despite Stead ending his note by adding ‘never use violent or threatening behaviour’, he’s since declared it an effective method against civil servants.
Stead, who is also a property developer and landlord, said: ‘Personally, I condone violence. I agree with violence, and I agree that it works particularly with people who sit behind a desk at a council.
‘I believe it’s often sometimes the only way to resolve a situation. It doesn’t work for everybody, but for council staff who are used to a very politically correct way of working, violence could be a very good outcome.
‘A lot of people could take their addresses, not to knock on their door innocently, like I do, but they could put their windows through and set fire to their car.
‘There are not enough police officers around now to be obtaining CCTV from hundreds of venues, so you can go and put car windows through and you won’t be arrested for it.
‘Particularly if you’re balaclava’d up and you’re wearing dark clothing. There aren’t any footprints as long as you stick to hard ground and you won’t get caught.
‘If members of the civil service did as they need to do, people wouldn’t get injured and people wouldn’t be turning up at their homes. People only take drastic action when they need to.
‘If I was to punch you in the face after I’d told you not to do something three or four times, you’d stop doing it.
‘I’ve punched someone in the face directly before when they’ve completely disobeyed whatever I’ve requested them not to do.
‘The time I punched this person in the face and said don’t f****** do it again – they stopped. They didn’t do it again. So it kind of proved my point that violence does work.’
The 31-year-old claims to have set up the website after helping a friend have his daughter removed from the child protection register.
He does not charge for his services and say he is just doing a ‘good thing’.
The part-time property developer says he’s visited senior council officials’ homes before, noting an instance when he was ordered to pay council tax on behalf of some tenants.