A man arrested for allegedly revealing the First Minister’s address as part of a New Years' Eve Facebook event has avoided prosecution.
Chris Brown was detained by police after he was reported for allegedly creating the spoof page on social media that called for a Hogmanay street party outside Nicola Sturgeon's home.
The event said it would be “bringing the celebrations to Sturgeon's”, and was due to begin at 9pm on New Years' Eve.
The First Minister’s sister, Gillian, told the Scottish Sun at the time: "My sister's personal address now shared all over social media as an event for a New Year party.
“Police been informed with your name. In case you are reading this. Looks like you are in for a Merry Christmas.”
Mr Brown was charged under section 127 part 2 of the Communications Act 2003, which carries a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail, a fine of up to £5000, or both.
He told the Scottish Sun his case had been called at court four times before ultimately being thrown out. Brown branded the proceedings a “farce”.
A Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal spokesperson said: “The Procurator Fiscal received a report relating to a 33-year old male and an incident said to have occurred on 22 December, 2021.
“After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, Crown Counsel instructed that there should be no proceedings taken at this time.
“The Crown reserves the right to raise proceedings at a future date.”
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