Cole Stewart, 18, has been jailed for 18 months after being filmed throwing a rock that hit a police officer during riots in Darlington following the Southport stabbings. A teenager seen in shocking footage “celebrating” after throwing a rock which hit a police officer during riots in Darlington has been jailed for 18 months. Cole Stewart, 18, was one of about 30 people who gathered outside a mosque in the North East town on August 5. Teesside Crown Court heard the group was chanting racist and far right slogans. Police formed a line separating the protesters from a group of about 60 Asian men who had gathered outside the mosque to protect it. Stewart, from Darlington, was seen breaking a large boulder into smaller rocks and throwing them towards officers. When one rock hit an officer on the arm, Stewart was seen “celebrating with his arms in the air”. A judge said that earlier that day social media posts had encouraged people to gather on Gladstone Street for a “protest” with the intention of approaching a mosque. In Stewart’s case, the court heard he had a “very difficult background” and denied using any racist language himself during the incident. Sentencing him to 18 months’ detention in a young offenders’ institution, Judge Francis Laird KC said: “You chose to take part in an organised act of public disorder, indeed you were at the forefront of it.”
via mirror: Teen rioter, 18, seen ‘celebrating’ after hitting cop with rock put behind bars