A 61-year-old British man has been sentenced to 18 months in prison in connection with an incident in London where he was filmed shouting “Who the hell is Allah?” during an anti-immigration protest that turned violent.
David Spring, of Longfellow Road, Sutton, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for comments made during a mass anti-immigration protest in Downing Street that turned violent following a mass stabbing incident in Southport which left three girls dead, despite not being accused of any actual violent behaviour.
Former train driver Spring, 61, pleaded guilty to “violent mayhem” after footage was shown in court showing him making “threatening gestures” at police and shouting “Who is Allah?”
Local Sutton & Croydon Guardian newspaper Reports When he was arrested on August 8, Spring told officers, “I didn’t go to London to start a riot. I went to complain about people staying at a hotel.”
Spring’s defence lawyer, Piers Kiss Wilson, told the court his client was ashamed of his actions and wanted to express his regret to his sick wife and family who “should not have had to go through this”.
Judge Benedict Kelleher said that while Spring had not committed any violent acts, an 18-month sentence was justified because his slogans “may and do appear to incite others to disorder.” Judge Kelleher also argued that Spring’s prison sentence was appropriate because it would serve to deter others from engaging in similar conduct.
‘Zero tolerance’ Labour leader Starmer vows government crackdown on ‘Islamophobia’https://t.co/73soQl81Bj
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 17, 2024
The sentence has sparked widespread debate in the UK, with many on social media arguing that Spring’s sentence demonstrates the existence of a hidden “blasphemy law” against Islam in the UK.
Former Brexit Party MEP Martin Daubney described the decision to jail Spring as “military boot justice”, lamenting that “in less than a week we’ve gone from #TwoTierJustice to de facto blasphemy law!”
“18 months in prison for chanting offensive slogans? Unless you’re shouting ‘Get out of town, you Nazi scum’ at war veterans or ‘From the river to the sea’ at Jews,” Dabney said. attention.
While Spring is jailed for his speech, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced criticism for hypocrisy over his government’s tough stance on the riots, after he made more than 1,000 arrests, some of them for social media posts despite not being involved in the actual riots.
BBC: Man arrested for ‘anti-establishment speech’ on social media goes on trialhttps://t.co/xYLJWyp0V4
—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 14, 2024
this week, Resurfaced comments A report from his time as director of public prosecutions in 2013 said Starmer had previously spoken out against launching excessive criminal investigations into social media posts, warning that it would have a “chilling effect” on free speech.
Spring’s incarceration came at the same time that another man was sentenced to prison for anti-immigration rioting, though the court found that he had not actually committed any acts of violence.
Army veteran Gary Harkness, 51, was sentenced to one year in prison by Plymouth Crown Court this week for being present and “causing a nuisance” during the disturbance in Plymouth city centre. Daily Mail Reports.
Harkness, who suffers from PTSD from his time in the army, was reportedly drunk during the riot but Judge Robert Linford acknowledged: “You are the most difficult person for me to convict because you cannot say you punched anybody, you threw anything, you spat at anybody.”
The veteran stated in court that he was “not a racist” and claimed no political affiliation, but the judge ultimately ruled that “anyone who took part in this unrest must receive prison time.”
Ex-police chief says anti-immigration riots should be treated like terrorismhttps://t.co/9MHHvTVGlY
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 6, 2024
