A British man has been jailed for “stirring up hatred” at a non-violent anti-migration protest in Leeds, during which he allegedly mocked Muslims and made “slurs” against Allah.
Phil Hoban, 48, the founder of the “paedophile hunter” Predator Exposure group, has been sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to racial abuse towards pro-Palestinian counter-protesters during a non-violent anti-mass migration demonstration in Leeds on August 3rd, the BBC reports.
The court heard that during the protest, Hoban was seen imitating the way Muslims pray in “order to mock their religion” and had made supposed slurs about Allah. He was also reportedly seen rubbing his lips “towards a person of colour”.
Recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl KC told Hoban his conduct and that of his group “was designed to stir up hatred.”
The father of three told the court that he was not racist and claimed in his police interview that he was not chanting Allah but rather making a reference to a man named “Alan”.
The non-violent protest in Leeds came amid widespread unrest throughout the UK in the wake of the killing of three young girls in a mass stabbing attack in Southport last month allegedly by a second-generation Rwandan migrant.
Hoban also said that he has decided to step down from the Predator Exposure group that he founded, a decision that he said had “really gutted me”. He claimed to have exposed 440 “online predators”.
The group was instrumental in the jailing of former Irish television producer Kieran Creavan, who was jailed for ten years for the sexual assault and exploitation of children following a sting operation by Predator Exposure in which Creavan was tricked into thinking he was meeting with a 13-year-old girl.
During his trial, Hoban said that he had worked with police on numerous occasions to track down paedophiles.
Alongside Hoban, James Gettings, 35, was also jailed for eight months by the Leeds Magistrates Court for “religiously aggravated harassment/alarm/distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour” during the same August 3rd protest.
Like Hoban, the court was told that Gettings had mocked the manner in which Muslim people pray.
Gettings reportedly told police that he was “disgusted” by his own behaviour and that as a result, he has been disowned by members of his family. He said that, “three seconds of madness” had ruined his life.
Meanwhile, the Leeds Magistrates Court also sentenced Simon Scott, 49, to 10 weeks in prison for “publishing a social media post which was grossly offensive”. The content of the message has not been made public.
Commenting on the cases, Assistant Chief Constable Osman Khan of the West Yorkshire Police said: “Our investigations into those involved in disorder continue and we remain absolutely determined to identify and take firm action against all those who have offended.
“There is absolutely no place for disorder offences or racially aggravated offending in our county and I can promise that those who seem to think that it is acceptable to behave in this way will be hunted down and locked up.
“As we have seen, the government and courts are taking a firm stance against this thuggery, as are we.
“We continue to use all the investigative tools available to us to bring those involved in the recent disorder to justice.”