A balaclava-clad thug who repeatedly abused police officers trying to maintain order as a protest in Middlesbrough descended into rioting has been jailed.
Jamie Govan’s behaviour was so disruptive that officers arrested him as tensions began to rise in the town centre in August.
The 26-year-old was captured on body-worn camera footage getting in the face of police officers as they attempted to maintain order.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the defendant had a limited involvement in the following violence as he was already in custody.
Rachel Masters, prosecuting, said Govan was arrested at the time of the offence after he repeatedly approached officers in an aggressive manner.
The court heard how the protest turned violent as hundreds of people targeted homes, vehicles and businesses as they made their way through the town centre in protest at the killing of the young girls in Southport.
Govan, of Hartington Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to violent disorder following his arrest on August 4.
Matthew Moore-Taylor, mitigating, urged the judge to take into consideration his client’s minimal involvement in the violence and the efforts to address his alcohol consumption.
He said: “The relative brevity of his involvement, taken in terms of the context of the whole affair, could bring the sentence into the grounds of a suspended sentence.”
Judge Francis Laird KC sentenced Govan to 18-months in custody after taking into account his guilty plea and previous good character.
He said: “You were wearing a balaclava, you repeatedly approached police lines and shouted and swore at police officers.
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“You were repeatedly told to move back from the police lines. Your behaviour was so aggressive that you were arrested at the time and on arrest you struggled violently but no charges arise from that conduct.”
The judge said he accepted that the defendant had not been involved in any of the violence as the trouble flared in the town centre.
He added: “I accept that you were not racially motivated and your attendance was prompted by an ideological objection to illegal migration.
“You have expressed genuine remorse for your involvement in the offence.”
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