A teenager named James Martin walked outside an Islamic center in North Yorkshire, holding firelighters in his pocket and waving an England flag. He was acting in a way that could cause big problems, and because of one foolish night, he is going to lose everything, a court was told.
James Martin is 18 years old, and after what he did on August 8 in Scarborough, he was sentenced to two years and two months in jail.
The court in York heard that James was with three other people. Together, they walked outside the Islamic center on Roscoe Street just after 10 p.m., while people inside were praying.
James was wearing something to cover his face, and he was swearing and shouting things like, “Why are they praying now? Don’t they have better things to do?” and “Let’s be proud of our flag.”
The judge said that on that day, there had been a lot of hateful messages on social media encouraging people to set fire to places linked to Islam.
The court was told that the police were already concerned that there might be trouble in Scarborough that day, so they had a special operation in place to keep things safe. Although they ended the operation, some officers stayed in the area near the Islamic center “just in case” something happened.
When the police saw James, they arrested him to stop any problems from starting. Even after his arrest, he kept acting out and causing trouble, according to what the court heard.
The police also found that James had a clear plastic bag with firelighters in his pocket, which could be used to start a fire. In the courtroom, they showed video footage from a police officer’s body camera.
The video showed police giving James a choice: he could take a warning and leave the area, or they would take him to the police station. James decided to go to the police station, saying, “Let’s do that, I’ll get tomorrow off work.” When a police officer told him he would probably be out of custody by then, James replied, “I just won’t tell my work.”
Before this incident, James had never been in trouble with the law. But now, because of his actions, he will lose his apprenticeship, where he was training to be a bricklayer.
The judge, named Sean Morris, is the Recorder of York. He sentenced James to 26 months in prison and told him that he had “disgraced” the flag he was carrying. The judge said that the flag belongs to everyone in the country, not just certain people.
The judge explained that James needed to go to prison right away to send a strong message. He said that even young men who have never been in trouble with the law need to understand that their actions have consequences.
Judge Morris also said that if James had actually gone through with starting a fire, the results could have been deadly.
James admitted that he was guilty of harassing people in a way that was racially or religiously motivated. He also admitted to carrying something that could be used to damage property and to resisting a police officer who was doing his job.