A man who chanted “Who the f*** is Allah” as he walked towards a line of police officers during disorder in Whitehall has been locked up.
Jordan Rawlings was among 700 people who gathered for a protest opposite Downing Street on July 31, following a similar demonstration in Southport, a court heard.
The disorder started after protesters decided to leave the area that had been agreed with the Metropolitan Police and as they moved towards Parliament Square.
A judge heard how the defendant was filmed shouting at a line of officers in riot gear as they attempted to prevent the protesters leaving the area.
Rachel Masters, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that the group had moved towards the Sir Winston Churchill statue, when Rawlings and others chanted “Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah?”
He was also seen to be making aggressive gestures towards the police.
Video played in court showed a group of men also shouting “You’re not English any more” and calling the police officers “scum”.
The defendant was initially arrested at the scene, de-arrested when the situation was under control, then re-arrested on August 8 when he was trying to travel from Darlington to London, following further analysis by police.
The 25-year-old, who has no previous convictions, admitted causing harassment, alarm or distress that was racially aggravated, when he first appeared at magistrates’ court.
Gary Wood, mitigating, said his client had pleaded guilty at the first time of asking and had not been involved in any violence during the disorder.
“He was very foolish to get involved in this group,” he said. “He got himself carried away saying some very unpleasant things indeed but thankfully, he hasn’t gone beyond that.”
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He added: “He has clearly been swept away with the behaviour that was going on and it is behaviour that he very much regrets.”
Judge Francis Laird KC said: “You chose to be part of an organised and largescale act of civil unrest. In the course of that you were part of a group that was aggressive towards police officers and chanted racist insults.
“This offence is set against the backdrop of other acts of civil disobedience that was developing nationwide only a custodial sentence can be justified.”
Rawlings, of Ritson Avenue, Bearpark, Durham, was jailed for 24 weeks.
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