'Misinformation' led to man taking part in riot

A man who "armed himself with debris" and "launched a missile" towards police officers during large-scale violence outside a hotel in Rotherham has been jailed.

Daniel Kendall went to the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers on 4 August to protest after being "fed misinformation" about asylum seekers, a judge said.

The 21-year-old, of Sandymount Road in Wath-upon-Dearne, admitted violent disorder at a previous court appearance.

Jailing him for two years and four months at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday, Judge Sarah Wright, said: "Those participating in this form of violent behaviour must be punished."

Video played to the court showed Kendall, dressed in black, picking up a piece of debris and throwing it towards a line of officers.

It was part of widespread violence where a hotel housing asylum seekers came under attack, with police officers injured.

Windows were smashed and fires were started, with some people gaining access to the lower floors of the hotel.

Staff inside a panic room were protected by freezers leaning against the door, prosecutor Neil Coxon said, referencing an impact statement from hotel maintenance manager Paul Coulson.

"The protesters wouldn’t care who we were, they would just hurt us in my opinion. It felt like it went on forever," Mr Coulson wrote.

Dale Harris, defence barrister for Kendall, said his client was like many defendants and had gone to the event after seeing it promoted on social media.

However, he said the sentences handed out by judges had set the bar "too high" within the sentencing guidelines.

It meant those who took part in violence "at the more serious end" may not receive sentences much higher than his client, he added.

"I do submit that the bar initially in these cases has been set too high," he said.

A pre-sentence report suggested Kendall could serve his sentence in the community, Mr Harris said.

But the judge said joining violent disorder involving a lot of people made the offence more serious.

Also appearing was Ross Hart, of Rose Grove in Wombwell.

He had admitted a charge of violent disorder after being filmed by a police helicopter damaging air conditioning units at the hotel.

Hart was then filmed rocking a police van, which almost flipped over, the court heard.

He "makes no excuses" for his behaviour and said his participation was "entirely pointless", his defence barrister said.

The 29-year-old has borderline personality disorder which may have gone someway to explaining his behaviour, his barrister added.

He was jailed for two years and 10 months.

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