A counter-protester was caught on CCTV throwing rocks at Middlesbrough rioters as police struggled to maintain control of the streets.
Brandon Collings was also spotted breaking a piece of wood in two before handing one half to another protester and heading towards a police line.
The 21-year-old turned up in Middlesbrough town centre with a group of friends to protect a mosque, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Saba Shan, prosecuting, said Collings was eventually identified in January last year – six months after disorder erupted following the deaths of three young girls in Southport.
Dealing with the defendant’s involvement, she said: “He was part of a group of counter protesters and the footage shows the defendant on Princes Road collecting stones before sharing them out with other people.
“He then walks with the group where he is seen to through four missiles towards a group of protesters.”
The court heard how Collings threw another rock at the protesters before picking up a piece of wood, snapping in half and walking towards the police line before turning around and heading away.
Collings, of Prospect Place, Norton, Stockton, pleaded guilty to violent disorder on August 4, 2024.
John Nixon, mitigating, said the father-to-be had gone to Middlesbrough with the best intention of protecting a mosque with his friends.
“His attendance initially was well intentioned,” he said. “He said in his pre-sentence report that the decisions he took that day were dumb and bad.
“He has expressed genuine remorse for his actions.”
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Judge Aisha Wadoodi sentenced Collings to 18-months in custody for his role in the violent disorder.
“There was a thin blue police line, you pick up the piece of wood you then snap it and armed with that approach the police with it – fortunately you didn’t try to attack the police with it,” she said.
“You did go with good intention but I am afraid what happened was that you weren’t trying to protect a mosque.
“I accept that your remorse was genuine.”
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