A rioter who launched vile abuse outside a hotel housing asylum seekers was told he displayed an ‘‘extraordinary level of ignorance’.
Steven Miller launched into a tirade aimed at an asylum seeker being escorted into the building, as well as a police officer. He was one of up to 70 people who attended the protest outside the hotel on Oldham Road in Newton Heath, after false information was posted online about the alleged perpetrator of the killing of three girls in Southport.
The disorder in north Manchester came after a Facebook post which read: "Let's get them out. "6pm today. Stand up and take note, because if you don't, no-one will."
READ MORE: Police raided his house looking for drugs - but got a shock when they looked in his bin bags
Police attended on July 31 as thugs launched missiles towards the building and officers, including bricks and bottles. A bus came under attack and the driver was injured. Others including 38-year-old Miller launched vile verbal abuse.
In footage played to the court, Miller could be heard calling an asylum seeker a ‘nonce’ and asked ‘why are you here?’ In another video, which police discovered on his mobile phone, Miller had filmed officers who were trying to move the mob away from Oldham Road.
Miller, of Devon Street, Farnworth, could be heard saying: “We’re peaceful. We’re protecting our kids, that’s all we’re doing, from these vile people.
“Take your uniform off and stand with us brother. What about your kids bruv?”
Sentencing, Judge Patrick Field KC told Miller that the asylum seekers were ‘vulnerable people’ who ‘probably deserved a bit of empathy from you rather than vile abuse’.
“The words you used not only displayed your own lack of tolerance, but an extraordinary level of
Courts
wellness
UPS
shock
information
Provident