Three teenagers have appeared in court over the alleged burning of a Remembrance Day poppy.
Two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old were charged with incitement to hatred when they appeared before magistrates in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
The youngest of the trio was also charged with improper use of the public electronic communications network.
The three were arrested by members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) after a photograph showing two teenagers burning a poppy was posted on a social networking site.
"Individuals should be mindful of the content of any material they upload onto social media networks," he added.
The photograph sparked outrage on the internet and saw insults and threats exchanged.
Insults were exchanged and threats of violence hurled as the two boys came online and defended their actions.
Dervock Royal British Legion member, Steven Phillips, was shown the “abhorrent” photo by his son and immediately telephoned police.
He said the two boys were “sticking two fingers up to the whole of society” by their actions, which he said constituted a hate crime.
He said the whole community had been “up in arms” at the photograph, and praised the police for their quick action in making the arrests after a complaint was made.
“I hope they throw the book at them because this is abhorrent,” he said.
“There’s people from this province that lay down their lives, so I think they deserve a bit of respect,” he said.