Man arrested for hate speech after Hindu protest in Coventry

A man from Birmingham, 37, was arrested today (23 September) on suspicion of posting content online that would incite religious hatred.

It follows a protest that happened last night in Coventry at the Mandir Hindu Temple on Stoney Stanton Road.

Officers from Coventry Police had been searching for him since seeing a video posted online in which threats and derogatory language was used.

The man handed himself in and is due to be questioned.

Officers were made aware of a protest happening last night and planned extra police presence to monitor it. Disorder broke out at a similar protest in Sandwell on Tuesday, just over an hour's drive from Coventry.

Violence broke out in Leicester when protests took place outside a Hindu temple.

It stems from tensions rising between Muslims and Hindus and police are asking for people not to spread misinformation online. West Midlands Police said the fake news includes:

• Rumours that a shopkeeper in the Dudley area was involved in the protests, prompting him to be racially abused. The shopkeeper was not involved in the protest, and two people have been arrested for racially aggravated public order offences.
• Reports that two young men were attacked in Oldbury during a protest. We’ve had no reports of this happening.
• A picture of a police officer at a mosque is being used to suggest that we are not impartial. This is not true, and the image was taken at the start of this month during a routine visit by officers in Birmingham.
• Coaches from other parts of the region were planning to arrive in the West Midlands on Wednesday night to cause problems. This did not happen.

They said they "won't tolerate social media being used to commit hate crime offences."

Ahead of the protest, West Midlands Police said: "We always seek to facilitate peaceful protest, upholding the right to protest, while balancing it with the rights of others to keep the public safe, prevent crime and disorder.

"However, we won't accept disorder and will seek to act against anyone who attends with the intention to cause trouble, and put the safety of others at risk."