A HORSFORTH man has been jailed for eight months after he was filmed making monkey gestures and shouting "rubber lips" towards black and Asian people amid recent disorder - and other offenders have also been locked up.
Video footage was played at Leeds Crown Court today showing Jordan Plain, 30, of Broadway, making gestures and shouting abuse at the front of an anti-immigration rally outside Leeds' art gallery last Saturday afternoon.
This rally took place in front of hundreds of anti-racism protesters, separated by lines of police.
At one point Plain was filmed with others mocking Muslim prayers.
Plain admitted racially aggravated harassment earlier this week.
He told a probation officer he was "ashamed of what he had done and it should never have happened".
The court heard he told probation that he was out drinking in Leeds when he came across the demonstration while he was "six-out-of-ten intoxicated".
Earlier today, a Facebook user who encouraged people to attack a hotel housing asylum seekers last week became the first person to be jailed for stirring up racial hatred.
Jordan Parlour, 28, of Seacroft, Leeds, admitted posting on the social media platform between August 1 and August 5 urging others to target the building in Leeds, which at the time was housing more than 200 asylum seekers and refugees.
The hotel manager put the building into lockdown on Saturday due to the disorder in the city, and at least one window was broken after stones were thrown over the weekend.
Parlour was jailed for 20 months at Leeds Crown Court.
West Yorkshire's Mayor Tracy Brabin welcomed the sentence.
"Parlour whipped up fear and hatred from behind his keyboard," she said.
"He was complicit in the violence that followed and, as such, should pay the price."
Meanwhile, Sameer Ali, 21, of West Park Drive, Leeds, was also today sentenced to 20 months in prison for an affray offence committed in Leeds city centre on August 3.
And Adnan Ghafoor, 31, of Spen Bank, Leeds, was sentenced to two years and six months for an affray offence committed in Leeds city centre on August 3. He was also sentenced for breaching a suspended sentence.
Both Ali and Ghafoor were convicted for their roles in an attack on “pro-EDL” protesters after rival demonstrations in the city.
These four men are the latest in a number of Yorkshire-based defendants to be brought before the courts following recent disturbances.
On Wednesday, Liam Ryan, of Thirkleby Royd, in the Clayton area of Bradford, cried at Manchester Magistrates' Court as he pleaded guilty to violent disorder following disturbances in that city last weekend.
Prosecutor Laura Peers said there had been a number of "large-scale disturbances" in Piccadilly Gardens last Saturday and Ryan had travelled from West Yorkshire to take part in the disorder.
Police have pledged no stone will be left unturned to bring the guilty to justice after recent disorder.
Assistant Chief Constable Osman Khan, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "It is clearly welcome that the first men convicted for their roles in disorder have faced justice so quickly.
"The Government pledged those involved in this disgraceful disorder in any way would face the full force of the law, and the criminal justice system is delivering on that pledge in West Yorkshire as it is elsewhere across the country.
"The conviction of Parlour is particularly notable as the first case in which someone has been convicted for posting online in relation to the disorder. This man encouraged others to attack a hotel, putting those inside at real risk.
"His sentencing should make it crystal clear that offending on social media from your front room carries just as much consequence as committing offences on the streets. Such behaviour has penalties and will see you before the courts to face justice and prison."
He added: "Our warning to anyone thinking of getting involved in this type of criminality is clear - if you cause or incite violence, or commit related offending, we will take all necessary steps and use all means at our disposal to bring you to justice."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article