Chainsaw-wielding thug chased public while draped in a Nazi flag

A chainsaw-wielding thug has been jailed for three years after chasing people down a public street whilst draped in an SS flag with a swastika. 

The assailant, who has been named as Cameron Hotchkiss, 22, also made a series of alarming video posts online in which he threatened to make a napalm flamethrower as part of an escalating feud with a family member.

Stirling Sheriff Court was told by the prosecution that the dramatic incident occurred late in June 2023 at roughly 11.20pm.

Prosecutor Rachel Wallace told the court that this followed an earlier drug debt argument relating to a friend of Hotchkiss which saw four men arrive at his home in Whins of Milton, Stirling.

Hotchkiss, together with his father and the friend, then went to meet the men in Stirling's Cornton area to pay the money.

Local police then received 'multiple' 999 calls from concerned members of the public after Hotchkiss was seen wielding the chainsaw in Westwood Crescent, Cornton.

Miss Wallace informed the court that 'The chainsaw was switched on and he was waving it around and appeared to be chasing someone.

'He was also wearing an SS flag which had SS emblems and a swastika on it.

Following this, Hotchkiss left the scene in a black Toyota Avensis which was later stopped by police.

Both the chainsaw and Nazi flag were found in the vehicle during a search, with Hotchkiss present in the front passenger seat.

Hotchkiss appeared before Striling Sheriff Court for sentencing on Wednesday (October 2nd) after pleading guilty to charges of common law and statutory breach of the peace.

Defending solicitor Frank Moore stated before the court that Hotchkiss and his father had been acting in self-defense and that Hotchkiss had only gotten the chainsaw from the boot of his father's car in an attempt to stop attackers.

Mr. Moore added that 'His father had been struck with a weapon, and Mr Hotchkiss was struck by a motor vehicle. The chainsaw is something he and his father use when they go camping.'

Miss Wallace said that the background to this terrifying incident was 'an ongoing feud between the accused's family and another family'.

Hotchkiss also admitted that a month later, on July 24th and 26th, he posted multiple videos on a Snapchat group threatening violence, stating he was making chemical weapons and threatening to make a napalm flame thrower, all while mixing chemicals and setting the chemicals and a liquid alight, and went on to send repeated Snapchat messages making offensive remarks and threatening violence.

One video, captioned 'chemical weapons experiment' showed liquid in a plastic bottle, Pyrex dishes, and Hotchkiss mixing petrol and polystyrene in his garden in a container labelled 'Napalm'.

Another showed a fire extinguisher near the container, captioned 'Just got to fill this bitch up with pressure and we've got a WW2 napalm flamethrower'.

Among further videos he posted was a male holding what Miss Wallace said 'could only be described as a flamethrower' and directing flames towards a grass area, which immediately caught fire.

The court heard that a criminal justice social work report on Hotchkiss warned he was at high risk of further offending with 'a high potential for harm'.

Imposing the 36-month jail term, Sheriff Derek Hamilton also placed him under social work supervision for 12 months on his release 'to protect the public from serious harm'.

He said: 'Clearly these are serious offences. Running up the street with a chainsaw operating, as would be evident to anyone, is completely unacceptable.'