A British man was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for engaging in violent disorder during recent anti-Muslim riots, marking the commencement of punishments amidst a
series of violent incidents following the tragic deaths of three girls in northwest England. Derek Drummond, 58, received his sentence at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting to charges of violent disorder and assault for striking a police officer.
Liam Riley, 41, was sentenced to 20 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of violent disorder and a racially aggravated public order offence. Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, commented in a statement: "The three men sentenced today are merely the beginning of a much larger issue, marking the start of a challenging journey for those who mistakenly engaged in violent disturbances."
The killings from last week, for which an 18-year-old has been arrested, sparked a surge of inaccurate online messaging that mistakenly labeled the alleged assailant as an Islamist migrant. Menary described this as "absolute nonsense," noting that it acted as "a justification for extensive public unrest." Over 140 individuals have already been charged in connection to the violence, and British police were on high alert on Wednesday for potential further anti-Muslim riots. Photo by LumixTrax, Wikimedia commons.