Stockton man jailed for assaulting rioter during Middlesbrough disorder
A man who assaulted a lone protester during riots in Middlesbrough "feared repercussions for the local mosque and Asian community" after the demonstration turned violent, a court heard.
A man who assaulted a lone protestor during riots in Middlesbrough has been jailed for 34 months at Teesside Crown Court.
25 year old Ameer Khalile, from Stockton, was one a group of men who said they feared repercussions for the local mosque and Asian community when the disorder started on the 4th of August.
Khalile and other men chased after the victim, shouting obscenities at him, Teesside Crown Court heard.
He then kicked the man as he lay face down in a ditch filled with water, a judge was told.
Teesside Crown Court heard the victim had attended the riot, which took place during nationwide disorder that unfolded over the summer, with a friend but had become separated from him.
As he tried to find his friend outside the Intrepid Explorer pub in Linthorpe Road, he saw a group of men running in his direction shouting and accusing him and others of smashing up a local mosque, a judge heard.
The court heard Khalile ran away and was seen at the door of a pub aiming a punch at someone and kicking at the door.
He was identified in the following weeks after an appeal by police.
Khalile, of Limerick Avenue, Stockton, was jailed for 34 months after pleading guilty to violent disorder and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.
In mitigation, the court heard Khalile had heard the "rhetoric whipped up by far right extremists" in the wake of the Southport attacks, and "became caught up with the emotions" on the day after fearing there would be repercussions to the local mosque and the local Asian community.
Judge Richard Clews told Khalile the victim "had done nothing to any of you - he had been, probably, attacked because he was white".
The judge said when the attack happened: "He was face down, he could quite easily have drowned."
Khalile was arrested at his home in Stockton during raids by Cleveland Police on August 28 which were attended by reporters.
He swore at the media as he was filmed being led to the police van, calling reporters "muppets" and saying: "Go and get some proper news."