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English Defence League

Leeds man jailed over his part in violent EDL rally

By
December 19, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed

A man from Leeds has been jailed over his part in a violent rally by the English Defence League.

Gareth Wall, 25, of Moresdale Lane, Seacroft, used a metal pole to smash the window of a restaurant as thugs caused damage in the Regency Wharf area of Birmingham.

He was jailed for 20 months after judge Richard Bond told him he had shown no remorse for his “persistent” offending, which included kicking out at a police dog while goading the animal using a St George’s Cross flag.

The sentencing of eight EDL supporters for violent disorder had earlier been temporarily halted after one of them demanded to be updated on the Sydney cafe siege.

Judge Bond briefly adjourned the case after being verbally abused, urged to “pass proper sentences” on Islamic extremists, and asked: “Any news on the Australian hostages?”

After returning to court, he sentenced the men, aged 22 to 35, to sentences of between 14 months and two years.

During the EDL rally, in July last year, a Muslim prayer cap and a Pakistani flag were set on fire and police were pelted with paving slabs and bottles.

Yorkshire Evening Post

EDL Birmingham riot thug Thomas Flynn, from Swindon, jailed – but gets shorter sentence after leaving EDL

By
December 16, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed

A Swindon man involved in a violent riot against police by the English Defence League has been jailed – but received a shorter sentence than the others because he has since quit the controversial far right group.

Thomas Flynn confronted police officers and forced them to push him away with riot shields during the disorder when EDL supporters from all over the country descended on Birmingham for a protest march through the city centre.

Sentencing of the eight men convicted of violent disorder was temporarily halted after one of them demanded to be updated on the Sydney café siege.

The judge, Richard Bond, adjourned the case after being verbally abused, urged to “pass proper sentences” on Islamic extremists, and asked: “Any news on the Australian hostages?”

Some of the defendants walked around the dock at Birmingham Crown Court during the outbursts, which also included chants of “No surrender to the Taliban.”

Judge Bond had already sentenced three of the men when one of them shouted “If there were proper sentences for extremists, the EDL wouldn’t be here” and another asked for news of events in Australia.

The judge then left the court-room for several minutes, before returning to continue to address the defendants and explain their sentences.

Jailing others for 18 months or two years, he gave Flynn, a 22-year-old from Grange Drive in Swindon, just 14 months after hearing that he now helped out at a respite centre and had since disassociated himself from the EDL.

Among the others in the dock over violent scenes at an EDL rally in Birmingham city centre was Otis Bloodworth, who attended the protest event in July 2013 wearing Union Jack boxing gloves and shorts.

CCTV footage played to the court showed Bloodworth, of Drummond Road, Skegness, Lincolnshire, punching a man who was being led away from the event by stewards.

The 35-year-old, who has 43 previous convictions dating back to 1997, was arrested and taken to a police station in March after an appeal for information on the BBC’s Crimewatch programme.

When questioned by officers as to whether he had any medical conditions, Bloodworth said he had ‘Islamophobia’ and refused to be represented by a Muslim solicitor.

Bloodworth was jailed for 18 months alongside Benjamin Crowder, who was celebrating his 21st birthday at the protest march.

Crowder, now 22, of Lumsdale Crescent, Matlock, Derbyshire, was given a two-year custodial sentence after footage was played to the court of him throwing an object at police.

Shane Williams, 27, of Birds Nest Avenue, Leicester, was jailed for two years. The court heard that he was seen chanting anti-Islamic slogans, hurled an empty soft drinks bottle at police, and was present at five of seven distinct sites of disorder at the protest.

Another defendant, Gareth Wall, 25, of Moresdale Lane, Leeds, used a metal pole to smash the window of a restaurant as thugs caused damage in the Regency Wharf area of Birmingham. He was jailed for 20 months after the judge told him he had shown no remorse for his “persistent” offending, which included kicking out at a police dog while goading the animal using a St George’s Cross flag.

During the EDL rally, a Muslim prayer cap and a Pakistani flag were set on fire in the street, while police were pelted with paving slabs and bottles. Around 200 EDL supporters were involved in the violence in the Broad Street and Centenary Square areas of Birmingham, which lasted for around two hours and left 30 officers injured.

Western Daily Press

EDL thug who hurled fire extinguisher at police jailed for 31 months

By
December 13, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed
Clockwise from top left: Ashley Rowland, James Cocks, Melvyn Parker and Jason Harris were sentenced on Friday over violence during last year's EDL protest

Clockwise from top left: Ashley Rowland, James Cocks, Melvyn Parker and Jason Harris were sentenced on Friday over violence during last year’s EDL protest

AN English Defence League supporter who hurled a fire extinguisher at police officers at “almost point blank range” as violence flared in Birmingham has been jailed.

Ashley Rowland was among up to 300 people involved in bloody clashes with police during a demonstration in the city centre on July 20 last year.

Thirty officers were injured with one needing hospital treatment.

Judge Richard Bond said Rowland was the most heavily-involved of more than 50 defendants due to be sentenced over the violence and had moved between various pockets of trouble.

He chanted racial and anti-religious slogans with others and aggressively confronted officers in Centenary Square.

And Rowland tried to scale a wall outside the International Convention Centre and threw a plank of wood which hit a police officer after he and other demonstrators raided a building site.

Outside the Hyatt Hotel, he picked up three pieces of a metal hotel sign which he also threw at a police cordon, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

At one point four officers became trapped on Broad Street and were surrounded.

Judge Bond told Rowland: “You picked up a fire extinguisher and forcefully threw it at the trapped officers.”

Rowland, 25, of Mexborough, South Yorkshire, had previously admitted a charge of violent disorder and was jailed for 31 months.

Three others were also sentenced for their roles in the trouble today.

Melvyn Parker, 47, of Mansfield, and James Cocks, 35, of Binton Close, Redditch, were both sentenced to two years while Jason Harris, 40, of Eccles, Salford, was jailed for 20 months.

James Cocks was sentenced to two years

James Cocks was sentenced to two years

They had also pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Passing sentence, the judge said the atmosphere before the 2,000-strong demonstration was “highly charged” following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby on a street in London.

The trouble lasted for around two hours and broke out at seven sites as EDL supporters tried to break through a police cordon and reach counter-demonstrators.

The worst violence was in Centenary Square where missiles were thrown, officers were kicked and punched and portable toilets were used as weapons.

Gerry Bermingham, for Rowland, said he had set up a small business since the incident and was trying to rehabilitate himself.

Nigel Stelling, for Parker, said he was “out of control” with drink and drugs when he joined the EDL.

A total of eight men have now been jailed for their roles in the violence.

Yesterday, four other defendants were jailed for a total of more than six years for their parts.

Birmingham Mail

EDL supporter who clashed with police while on crutches jailed for 16 months

By
December 12, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed

EDL-Four

A English Defence League supporter from the West Midlands involved in clashes with police while on crutches at a protest rally has been jailed for 16 months.

Lee Joshua claimed to have “enjoyed every minute” of violent scenes which left 30 police officers injured, and later posted an image of himself burning a copy of the Koran on Facebook.

Birmingham Crown Court heard that a Muslim prayer cap and a Pakistani flag were set on fire in the street, while police were pelted with paving slabs and bottles during the disorder in July 2013.

Around 200 EDL supporters were involved in the violence in the Broad Street and Centenary Square areas of Birmingham, which lasted for around two hours.

Joshua, said to have been at the fore-front of attempts to break through police lines, was sentenced alongside fellow EDL supporters Jake Hill, James Harrington and Adam Beebee.

Passing sentence on the men, who all admitted violent disorder, Judge Richard Bond said much of the conduct seen at the EDL rally had been “plainly racist and/or anti-Muslim”.

The judge told them: “There were seven separate sites where violence was either used of threatened.

“Even officers trained for public disorder and who have experience of such situations told both juries (in earlier trials) how scared they were of what was taking place.

“They had not seen aggression like this before despite their experience.”

Commenting on CCTV footage which showed police trying to stop EDL supporters from forcing their way into a building site, the judge added: “The only sensible option for the officers was to use their batons.”

The court heard that Hill, 22, of Mill Street, Brierley Hill, West Midlands, attempted to push a policeman, spat in the direction of another in a “deeply unpleasant” act, and was part of a crowd which attacked four officers trapped between two vans.

Police watch over a crowd on the day of the protest

Police watch over a crowd on the day of the protest

Hill, who was jailed 22 months, was told by the judge that his involvement in the disorder had been persistent and prolonged.

Harrington, a former bricklayer and grave-digger from Swarcliffe Road, Leeds, attended the rally wearing a One True Saxon T-shirt.

The 30-year-old father-of-two, who was jailed for two years, was seen on CCTV standing on top of a fast food kiosk holding a half-full bottle of brandy.

He later tried to hit a police officer using a placard on a length of wood, but was knocked off balance by a surge in the crowd.

Racist text message were found on Harrington’s phone after his arrest, showing that he was “looking for trouble” even before he arrived in Birmingham.

Beebee, 28, of Boundary Road, Erdington, Birmingham, was involved in two separate incidents of disorder and admitted trying to pass through police lines to “have a ruck” with counter-protesters.

The 28-year-old, who works for Jaguar Land Rover and gave himself up after a televised appeal for information, was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment.

Joshua, of Highbridge Road, Netherton, near Dudley, West Midlands, was seen pushing and shoving and being held back by EDL stewards.

After ending up with a large cut on his head, which the judge said was probably caused by a police baton, Joshua shouted “You lot done this” at officers.

The 43-year-old, who told police he had consumed 10 cans of lager, later posted a message on Facebook claiming the Koran was an “evil” book and showing a copy of it being burnt.

Judge Bond was told that Joshua had previously served eight custodial sentences after amassing a total of 89 previous convictions.

A further 48 men are due to be sentenced during December at the same court for offences linked to the disorder.


Express & Star

Jake Hill has a previous conviction for affray at an EDL demo in 2011. Details here.

Man wrote on Facebook he hoped missing child Mikaeel was ‘under bus’

By
December 5, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed, Racial Conviction

A man posted on Facebook he hoped missing toddler Mikaeel Kular was found “under the wheels of a bus”.

Shaun Moth posted a series of offensive posts on a group on the social networking website the day before the toddler’s body was found in woodland in Kirkcaldy.

The 45-year-old, from Whitehills, Aberdeenshire, pleaded guilty to conducting himself in a disorderly manner, posting grossly offensive comments on Facebook and breach of the peace aggravated by religious prejuidice at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Thursday.

Fiscal depute David Bernard said: “On the 16th of January this year Mikaeel Kular, who at the time was aged three, was reported missing by his mother in the Edinburgh area.

“A national media release was sent by Police Scotland to try to trace the child.

“On that date a post was put on the page for a group entitled Scotland United Against the racist SDL.

“During the evening of the 16th of January, one of the administrators for that Facebook page logged on to the page and that account to view recent activity.

“At this time she noticed a comment about the missing child which was made at 1745 hours that day by a user named Shaun Moth.

“The comment read ‘Hopefully he’ll be found… under the wheels of a bus’.”

Several other comments were posted on Facebook by Moth and the administrator was “so offended” she decided to hide them from public view.

Among them was a statement from Moth that he would laugh when the child’s body was found.

Another post read: “I care not. One less ethnic regardless of his age is a good thing. Said what I wanted to and annoyed a few of your ilk. My work is done here. wpww 14/88.”

Mr Bernard said the acronym wpww was understood to stand for White Power World Wide and 14/88 was a Neo-Nazi term for “Heil Hitler”.

Moth also posted the comment: “Do you look for missing white kids as well?” on the page and called for another account user to concentrate on getting “that Arab loving ape” out of the White House.

The court heard Moth also posted a comment about Jews on the page.

The Facebook administrator contacted police and officers carried out a search of Moth’s home on January 29.

During his police interview, he described himself as a Nationalist Socialist, told officers he often went on to the Facebook page for debate and classed it as a left wing Marxist page for all Communist types.

Moth was asked if he was racist and said he was an intelligent man and “not a mindless yob”.

He said in the interview: “My heritage is being stripped by these people. It’s being systematically eroded and attacked by these people”.

Sheriff William Summers remanded him in custody to be sentenced at a later date.

Police said the case should serve as a reminder to people that they would be brought to court if they posted offensive material online.

Chief Inspector John McCluskey said: “This case is another example of Police Scotland’s commitment to pursue those who cause offence and distress to others on social media.

“People need to remember that they cannot hide behind social media and that if they make vile offensive comments online they will be prosecuted.”

STV

From his Youtube account:-

Shaun Moth

EDL Man Jailed For Sword Attack

By
December 3, 2014
assault, EDL, English Defence League, Jailed, Racial Conviction

Gareth Devlin

An EDL supporter has been jailed for five years today after being found guilty of attacking a man with a samurai sword.

Gareth Devlin from Port Clarence, Teeside attacked a group of Polish nationals who were watching the World Cup in July. During the attack, Devlin threatened to kill all Polish people.

The horrific attack was caught on camera by an amateur photographer who handed the evidence to police.

The Teeside racist can be seen waving the sword at the group of Poles which sadly included a group of children.

He then attacked one of the men causing a wound to the man’s back that required five stiches.

Devlin,28 admitted wounding with intent, affray and possession of an offensive weapon.

Another man, Joseph Smithson also admitted affray. He was given a two-year community order with 120 hours’ unpaid work and a year’s supervision.

Gareth Devlin is no stranger to crime, having 40 previous offences on his lengthy criminal record, including four for violence.He was sent to a young offenders’ institution in 2007 for having a home-made machete in a public place.

Hope not Hate

Soldier who became EDL fanatic jailed for two years for making potentially-lethal nail bomb

By
November 28, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed

Ryan McGee, 20, of Mellor Street, Eccles, was sentenced at the Old Bailey after admitting making explosives and possessing terrorist literature

Ryan McGee made this home-made bomb filled with shrapnel

Ryan McGee made this home-made bomb filled with shrapnel

A ‘self-radicalised’ soldier who became an EDL fanatic while constructing a potentially lethal nail bomb in his bedroom has been jailed for two years.

Ryan McGee, 20, constructed a homemade bomb packed with 181 metal screws, bits of glass and explosives inside a pickle jar which could have killed or maimed if detonated.

The device sparked a bomb scare after police discovered it while searching his home on Mellor Street, Eccles, as part of an unconnected investigation in November last year.

Experts say the powerful bomb was just a ‘simple step’ from completion.

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Officers also discovered an arsenal of guns and knives and extremist right-wing material in the first-floor bedroom, which was draped in English Defence League flags.

Crucially, bomb-making manual The Anarchist Cookbook was also found.

McGee admitted that between May 31 2013 and November 29 2013 at Salford he possessed a document containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

He has also pleaded guilty to a second charge that between September 1 2013 and September 3 2013 at Salford he made an explosive device.

Jailing him, Recorder of London Brian Barker said: “The fact of the matter is any explosive device in the wrong hands could cause untold misery to anyone on the receiving end.

“Sadly, we live in a violent age. Let’s be quite clear that any experimentation by anybody with these kinds of weapons must lead to severe sentences.

“What you have lost is your reputation and your future but I hope in due course you can make amends for that.”

Police originally raided the property as they suspected brother Steven, 20, of possessing child abuse images.

But following the discovery, Ryan – who was was serving in Paderborn, Germany, with 5th Battalion the Rifles – was detained at his barracks and returned to Britain.

Private McGee, a former Salford City Academy pupil, told officers he was ‘just experimenting’ with the ingredients but was charged and later admitted making explosives and possession of a document for terrorist purposes.

He joined the army in 2012 and had shown an interest in far-right parties such as the British National Party and the EDL since his early teens.

Disgusting racist rants posted on social media and kept in a handwritten diary revealed his hatred of immigration and admiration for Adolf Hitler and other far-right leaders.

In March 2013 he attended an EDL rally in Manchester city centre and regularly uploaded pictures of himself wearing or posing with EDL clothing and flags.

His computer also contained footage of a neo-Nazi beheading in eastern Europe.

The court heard McGee kept a journal entitled Ryan’s Story Book with stickers of Scooby Doo and birds on the front filled with drawings of guns, machetes, knuckledusters and knives and images of several paramilitary soldiers.

It also contained references to right-wing groups such as the National Front, KKK and BNP, the court heard.

He downloaded a number of extreme videos and his laptop had links to websites including gore videos, French Skinheads, Russian Racism, Handguns for sale UK and Germany, and YouTube videos of EDL marches against Muslims and Nazi youth.

The prosecutor accepted he was not a terrorist and that he didn’t intend to help a terrorist group.

Defending, Antony Chinn QC said McGee had been an immature teenager at the time, as demonstrated by the Scooby Doo notebook.

He said: “Although he accepts he made the device he never intended to put it to any violent purpose.”

McGee, a fifth generation Army man, was “a bit of a loner” who was brought up with far-right views, he said.

The bomb has been branded ‘viable’ by anti-terror officers and only needed to be hooked up to an electric current to become useable.

He had conducted internet searches on how to make detonators as well as experimenting with improvised booby traps.

Detectives did not find evidence McGee was planning a specific attack or had identified a target.

He remains a member of the armed forces but that is expected to be reviewed after his sentencing at the Old Bailey.

Detective Superintendent Simon Barraclough, from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit described McGee as a ‘self-radicalised’ individual who developed an unhealthy infatuation with explosives.

He aid: “He was obsessed with guns and explosives and this had drawn him into the military.

“He was a self-radicalised individual who was in possession of some extremist right-wing material.

“What he had produced was a completely viable device. If it had been connected to a power source it would have been ready to go.

“By it’s very nature this device was extremely dangerous.

“It had the capability of causing very serious injury to people, which ultimately means that it had the capability to kill people.

“It’s very difficult to say how dangerous an item like that is. It clearly depends where it’s placed, the positioning of it and exactly how many people are around it.

“Human beings are very fragile things and this bomb had the potential to do a lot of damage.”

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Manchester Evening News

20-year-old man admits theft

By
November 27, 2014
EDL, English Defence League

A 20-YEAR-OLD man has admitted a theft and breaching a community order by failing to attend arranged unpaid work.

Keiran Ince, of no fixed abode, admitted the breach and indicated a plea of guilty to the theft at Bolton Magistrates Court yesterday.

He had been charged with stealing goods worth £151 on November 14.

He was remanded on bail until December 15, when he will be sentenced.

Bolton News

ince 1

ince

Four EDL members guilty of violent disorder during July 2013 protest

By
November 25, 2014
EDL, English Defence League, Jailed

Defendents denied taking part in trouble but were convicted by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court

A further four members of the English Defence League (EDL) have been found guilty of violent disorder during a bloody demonstration in Birmingham city centre.

Following a trial, the jury convicted Adrian Rimmel, 50, of Swallow Avenue, Smithswood, Simon Reeve, 43, of London Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk, Gary Watts, 29, of Parsoles Avenue, Dagenham, Essex and Anthony Webster, 38, of Strathmore Crescent, Newcastle, of the offence on July 20, 2013.

Footage from the incident – which included demonstrators trying to use a portaloo as a weapon against cops – was shown to the jury.

His Honour Judge Richard Bond adjourned their case for pre-sentence reports to be drawn up, but he warned them a prison sentence was inevitable.

Granting the four bail, he said: “Do not think because I have adjourned this case for pre-sentence reports anything other than an immediate custodial sentence will follow.

“You know how serious this offence is and I am taking this violent disorder very seriously.

“The starting point (for sentence) is a quite lengthy custodial sentence,”

At the end of the trial, in which the jury viewed police footage from the demonstration, Judge Bond told the panel that around 50 EDL members would face sentence next month for offences committed during the same incident.

On the day of the disturbances in July 2013 demonstrators clashed with police officers, who were pelted with bottles, bricks and cans.

Last month, in the same court, Thomas Wilkie, aged 22, of Kent Road, Wednesbury, Shane Williams, 26, of Dragon Lane, Leicester and Andrew Edge, 44, of Wellington Road, Stockport, were also convicted by a jury of violent disorder.

Edge, who asked to be remanded into custody, chanted “EDL, EDL” as he was led down to cells.

Judge Bond told jurors at the time: “Well there you go, resounding confirmation the verdict you returned was the correct one.”

Birmingham Mail

Blackburn man admits raping 14-year-old girl near primary school

By
November 25, 2014
assault, EDL, English Defence League

A MAN has admitted raping a teenage girl on playing fields near a school.

At Preston Crown Court yesterday, Michael McQueenie, of Highbury Place, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to rape and sexual assault.

He had been due to stand trial but accepted the charges against him.

Police said they hope the plea will allow the victim, who was 14 at the time of the attack, to start to rebuild her life.

The incident happened when McQueenie, who was wearing a fluorescent yellow jacket, lured the girl into a wooded area near St James’ Primary School, in Oozebooth Terrace, on June 5.

He asked her remove her clothing and then subjected her to a serious sexual assault.

McQueenie, 28, was disturbed and ran off when the girl’s concerned father came looking for her.

Detectives launched a major inquiry and a dedicated team of officers carried out door-to-door inquiries in the area.

The youngster is being supported by specially-trained officers.

Det Chief Insp Dean Holden, from Lancashire Constabulary, said the girl was terrified by her ordeal.

He said: “I welcome the result, given the terrible ordeal that this vulnerable young girl suffered.

“I hope that McQueenie’s admission of guilt and his subsequent sentencing next year will bring some closure to the victim and her family so that they can start to get on with rebuilding their lives.”

Cllr Hussain Akhtar, who represents the Shear Brow ward, said: “Our community does not accept things like this.

“What he did is very bad and sad. Parents in the area have discussed with their children about strangers and they are now keeping an eye out.

“I hope this girl can put behind her what happened and that she can get on with her life. There should be a very strong punishment for people like McQueenie.”

McQueenie will be sentenced at Burnley Crown Court on Monday, January 26.

Lancashire Telegraph.