A CHARFIELD man who threw an object during ‘shocking’ violence at an anti-immigration protest has been jailed.
Benjamin Tavener (pictured above) was recorded on video throwing the missile during disturbances at Castle Park, in Bristol city centre, on August 3.
Today at Bristol Crown Court Tavener, aged 35, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of violent disorder.
He was sentenced on the same day as two other other people – 21-year-old Kieran Leach, of Keynsham, and a boy aged 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Leach assaulted a cyclist, threw punches during violent clashes with counter-protestors outside the city’s Mercure Hotel on Redcliff Hill, which was being used to house asylum seekers, and acted aggressively towards police officers and members of the public.
He was jailed for 20 months at the same court after admitting charges of violent disorder and assault.
The teenager was given a nine-month intensive referral order at Bristol Youth Court after pleading guilty to a violent disorder charge.
More than 30 people sentenced so far
They bring the total number of people sentenced in connection with the violence, which took place over several hours, to 31.
The violence flared during a week of anti-immigration riots across the UK, sparked by false information spread online that claimed the killer of three girls in Southport on July 29 was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
Detective Chief Inspector Tom Herbert said: “More than 30 people have now been sentenced for their part in the shocking scenes of disorder in Bristol that day.
“We have made it absolutely clear that those responsible would be identified and arrested and that’s what we continue to do with 52 people having been arrested and 43 of those having been charged.”
Police have published images of a number of people they still want to trace and question as part of their investigation.
They can be found online, along with instructions on how to provide information, here.