A non-violent protester has been jailed for 30 months for chanting “who the fuck is Allah?” during an anti-immigration demonstration last year, just weeks after a Muslim who threw bricks during the same clash was given a suspended sentence.
Nathan Poole, a 32-year-old father, pleaded guilty to violent disorder after being charged for shouting during the protest in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, on August 3, 2024, where Muslim counter-protesters launched a series of vicious attacks on White British demonstrators.
But despite not carrying out any violent acts, Poole was sentenced 2.5 years behind bars in Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Monday by Judge Richard McConaghy, who called him “bullish” and said he showed “hostility to Islam”, StokeonTrentLive reported.
Poole was jailed despite Muslim rioter Hasnen Iqbal, 28, being given a suspended sentence in the same court after pleading guilty to the same charge, with Judge Graeme Smith ruling in July that his throwing of bricks at rival protesters and police was “out of character”.
Judge McConaghy previously jailed another protester, former police officer James Fernandes, to 28 months for kicking police shields on the same day, and earlier this month opted not to jail a pervert who groomed a 13-year-old schoolgirl for sex.
Days after that he jailed 32-year-old Eritrean immigrant Natnael Teclehaimanot to just four years, of which he will only have to serve two before being deported, for raping a vulnerable 13-year-old girl who he lured into his home after finding her in the street lost and crying.
Poole’s trial heard that the tarmac company worker recorded the protests on his phone, and chanted “who the fuck is Allah?”, “you are all fucking nonces” and “scum” at counter-protesters and “was at the front of the crowd shouting abuse towards police while others were throwing missiles”.
He denied acting unlawfully in a police interview and admitted attending the protest which he said was “against the government for fucking them over”, but later pleaded guilty.
Lawyer Martin Bloor told the court: “There was no clear evidence that he was physically involved. He did not attack the police. He could not be seen to throw any missiles. He did not damage any property.”
But Judge McConaghy described Poole as a “active participant”, saying “you now accept your presence worsened the situation”.
“You were encouraging others. You found your way to the front of the police line. You were abusive and argumentative with police officers while others were throwing missiles over their heads,” he said.
“It is right to say there is no evidence that you threw a missile or that you were an architect of any of the pushing. But you were seen in different locations. You were being bullish and shouted, ‘Who the f*** is Allah’ at the other group.
“The main location was the mosque and your specific chants in relation to Allah made it quite clear your involvement was hostility towards Islam.”
Poole is the latest in a long line of White British anti-immigration protesters to be given harsh jail sentences for Facebook posts, comments and chants during the unrest sparked by the stabbing murders of three young girls by Rwandan teen Axel Rudakubana in Southport last year.
Header image: Left, Nathan Poole. Right Hasnen Iqbal (Staffordshire Police).
