A Middlesbrough man has been sentenced for inciting violence during riots, encouraging others to throw a burning wheelie bin at police officers
Middlesbrough: A protestor named Joseph McKenzie has been sentenced for his role in the riots. He was right at the front, shouting and swearing, and even egging on others to throw a burning wheelie bin at the police.
This all went down on August 4, when things got pretty chaotic. McKenzie, 28, was caught on camera yelling, “I hate the *****,” while bricks were flying around. It was a wild scene with 320 officers trying to keep control.
In court, McKenzie claimed he was just trying to get back to his car because of his disabilities. But the judge wasn’t buying it. CCTV showed him walking around just fine during the chaos.
He appeared via video link from prison, and the prosecutor painted a clear picture of him being a key player in the riots. Witnesses said homes were getting smashed up, and people were throwing bricks everywhere.
His lawyer argued for a lighter sentence, saying McKenzie didn’t throw anything himself and had learned his lesson. But the judge made it clear that while protesting is a right, what McKenzie did crossed the line into violence.
In the end, he got 33 months behind bars for his actions. It’s a tough lesson learned for him, that’s for sure.
