A protester who attempted to break into a hotel housing asylum seekers while wearing a Union flag as a cloak has avoided a prison sentence.
Robert Scott, 47, also stole a Deliveroo bag after he joined 100 to 150 people in Liverpool city centre on June 9 for a protest which was planned following disruption in Belfast.
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At Liverpool Crown Court, Scott, of Bootle, Sefton, was given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years.
Judge David Swinnerton said the protest took place in the context of “protecting women and girls from asylum seekers”.
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Speaking of Scott’s 44 previous convictions for 72 offences, he said: “He’s got domestic violence all over his record and five children he doesn’t look after.”
The court heard he had damaged the door of the Richmond Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, and attempted to gain entry before being stopped by police officers.
The judge said there was a “baying mob” of protesters outside the hotel.
He said: “The general intention was, no doubt, to intimidate, and you, clad as you were in your Union Jack flag as a cloak, forced your way through the doors.”
The judge added: “Immediately behind you as you forced open the doors of that hotel were 100 to 150 people shouting and being abusive, and racially motivated abuse, towards the people within that hotel.”
The defendant was captured on CCTV near the Adelphi Hotel on Bold Street making off with a Deliveroo bag from a group of riders who had gathered there.
He later posted footage on TikTok “celebrating” the theft and a picture on his Facebook page showed the bag with five pictures of Henry Nowak, whose murder sparked protests in Southampton, stuck on to it.
The judge said Scott saw the bag as a symbol of immigrants and those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.
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He said: “That’s why you stole a Deliveroo bag, to taunt them and because you appear to have found it funny and others appear to have found it funny too.
“There was some comment about doing it for the clicks.”
The court heard a community impact statement set out the effect of the protest on businesses, who had to pay for taxis for staff to ensure they got home safely.
Judge Swinnerton said: “The image of mobs coming down the street is not one which promotes the visitor economy.”
The defendant, who appeared over video link from prison with a bandaged arm, told the court he was sorry for his actions and said he had attempted to take his own life.
Nick Cockrell, defending, said: “It hasn’t been an easy experience in custody this time round, and he is anxious, if he can, to receive a sentence which allows for his release and allows him to make some progress in the community.”
Scott, who pleaded guilty to theft and criminal damage at an earlier hearing, was ordered to carry out 25 days of rehabilitation activity, 100 hours of unpaid work, 12 months of mental health treatment and was made subject to a trial monitoring tag requirement for 12 months.
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