A rioter who brought shame on two areas of the North East in three days blamed “misinformation” he consumed on the “right wing media”.
Ashley Wilkinson took part in widespread disorder in Hartlepool before travelling to Sunderland three days later and rioting. Footage showed him masked, wielding a baton and hurling missiles at police including a beer keg in actions which a judge said shamed the St George’s flag he was in possession of.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Wilkinson has since taken part in a meeting with an Imam while remanded in custody and is remorseful for his behaviour, which happened after he became immersed in online right wing material when his mental health deteriorated.
On the morning of July 31 last year, police became aware of posts on social media about addresses said to house asylum seekers in the Hartlepool area, with the tenor of the post being to encourage people to attend a protest.
Around 6pm, CCTV picked up a group at the cenotaph, in Hartlepool and by 8pm things had turned violent, with Wilkinson one of those identified as taking part. Footage showed him approach the police line and throw missiles at officers with considerable force.
Wilkinson, 35, who had a mask covering his face and was in possession of a St George’s flag, was also seen wielding a “baton-like item” and attacking police with it, hitting a riot shield.
The court heard a police chief said it had an “enormous impact” on the public, community and the police – with 19 officers suffering physical injuries and others suffering psychological distress.
Three days later, Wilkinson went to Sunderland city centre and took part in a riot during which police were met with serious and sustained levels of violence, with four of them requiring hospital treatment.
The court heard he was part of a large group, at least in the hundreds, and their actions made Sunderland unsafe for members of the public. CCTV showed Wilkinson, who was again masked, throwing the heavy metal base of metal fencing at the police before obtaining a beer keg and throwing that at officers, hitting riot shields.
He was also seen as part of a group heading towards a mosque and running towards a police line who were blocking them. He was also seen throwing bottles and charging at the police line.
He was arrested on August 10 in Newcastle city centre and was in possession of fishing line, firelighters, ball bearings, goggles and a face mask, although he faces no charges in relation to that.
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Wilkinson, of no fixed address, who has 59 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to violent disorder in relation to what happened in Hartlepool and riot in relation to his actions in Sunderland. He was jailed for six years.
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Judge Tim Gittins told Wilkinson: “Not only did you bring shame to the city of Sunderland but also to the town of Hartlepool when you, for no justifiable reason, as you now accept, attended in the city centres with a large number of others and participated in an orgy of mindless destruction, violence and disorder.” Judge Gittins said Wilkinson had also “brought shame” on the St George’s flag he had with him.
Tony Cornberg, defending, said Wilkinson has been working with a group called Prevent, who work with people involved in extremist activities, while remanded in custody and they arranged a meeting with an Imam.
Mr Cornberg said: “The defendant thought there must be more to this religion than the snippets of extremist views he saw on the right wing media. He said he could have easily spent the rest of the day speaking to the Imam.
“He said I hope you don’t think I hate people and he said his knowledge of Islam came from the right wing media. He took on board lies and propaganda.”
Judge Gittins told Wilkinson: “It’s clear you had become immersed in online, right wing material, misinformation, in the days and weeks leading up to the events we are concerned with, as a consequence, in part, of the issues you were having medically that you sought help for (including narcolepsy) leading to sleeping problems.”
The judge said he accepted Wilkinson had “genuine remorse” and had suffered a deterioration in his mental health, was taking cannabis at the time and now realises he had been consumed by misinformation from right wing material online.
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/rioter-who-brought-violence-sunderland-30819542
