A man showed two fingers to a judge who had imprisoned his brother — and nearly ended up in jail himself. District Judge Steve Harmes had just sentenced Rhys Griffiths when the defendant's brother Ashley made the rude gesture.
While security staff were escorting Rhys from the Cardiff Magistrates' Court dock to start his 16-week stretch for assault, Ashley was heading from the public gallery towards the courtroom's exit. As Ashley approached the door he turned towards Judge Harmes, raised two fingers and muttered something under his breath.
Judge Harmes then pointed towards the dock and told Ashley: "Get in there." Rhys stopped to protest and began resisting the security guards' attempts to take him to the cells. But the judge told him: "You go, unless you want some more time."
Rhys was escorted out and Ashley entered the dock. "You gave me two fingers," said Judge Harmes. "Unless you want to go to prison right now, you can apologise."
"Apologise for what?" Mr Griffiths replied. "I didn't do what you said." But the judge continued to demand an apology and Mr Griffiths eventually said: "Yeah."
This did not satisfy Judge Harmes, who said: "Apologise for giving me two fingers." Mr Griffiths again denied making the gesture, claiming that it had actually been a "cwtch" motion towards his brother. But when the judge pointed out that Mr Griffiths was facing 28 days in jail for contempt of court, he responded: "I'm sorry for what I did."
Judge Harmes said: "For what?" Mr Griffiths stopped short of repeating the two-finger gesture but he slightly raised his hand and said: "For doing that." He was then permitted to leave the courtroom.
Outside court Mr Griffiths told WalesOnline he had not meant to raise two fingers but admitted: "I did say 'f***ing w*****' under my breath. I couldn't give a f***."
Mr Griffiths said he had been angered by his brother's sentence, even though he had been expecting a jail term. He felt the offence did not merit prison in his "personal opinion".
Judge Harmes later told WalesOnline: "In eight years I've never sent anyone down for contempt of court. I don't care what they say about me." But he added that it is important for people not to walk away from court believing they can get away with abusive behaviour.
Rhys Griffiths, 30, of High View Way in Glyncoch, had been jailed for threatening to shave his then-girlfriend's head after she accidentally nicked him with a razor while shaving his back. He left her "very frightened" as he grabbed her hair and hurled abuse. You can read more about that case here.
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