A woman has been jailed for arson at a Bristol Kill the Bill protest. Jasmine York told Bristol Crown Court that on March 21 last year she attended a vigil for murdered Sarah Everard on College Green.
But it was claimed York was an instigator when trouble flared, was "geeing up" the crowd with chants and pushed a wheelie bin into a burning police car. York, 26, of Paintworks, Bristol, denied riot and arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
A jury of seven women and five men cleared York of riot after six hours and 12 minutes' deliberation. After the judge gave them the offer of a majority verdict - one that at least ten agree on - the jury convicted her of the arson charge.
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Judge James Patrick jailed her for nine months. He said he would be failing in his public duty if imprisonment was not immediate, telling York: "Your actions made a difficult situation even worse."
The court heard York was diagnosed with emotional unstable personality disorder, long-standing issues with drugs and alcohol and her medication had ran out in the lead up to the incident. Russell Fraser, defending, said his client conceded she could have behaved differently on the day and had expressed regret.
York told a jury that after the Sarah Everard vigil she followed a protest march via Castle Park to Bridewell police station. She said trouble flared and though she was simply trying to prevent people being harmed she was subjected to police violence.
The court has heard trouble followed an initially peaceful "Kill the Bill" protest against the proposed Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Scenes turned ugly with a faction of protesters letting off fireworks, throwing missiles at police, setting police vehicles on fire and smashing the windows of Bridewell police station.
York told the court when she arrived in the vicinity of Bridwell police station she filmed the scene on her mobile to write about afterwards. She also said she livestreamed events.
The court heard she was nervous when people started rocking a police van as she considered it to be dangerous. She said she shouted "forward!" to the crowd to keep them together and safe.
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York admitted she shouted "F*** the police!" and now felt that to be a "bit rude". She also admitted writing graffiti "Sluts Against Cops" on a police vehicle, and said chanting was commonplace at protests.
She did not consider herself to be a leader of the crowd, she said, and had just wanted to keep people safe. The chant "These streets, out streets!" meant people should be safe on their own streets, she explained.
And she said the chant "Who do you protect?!" was directed at police after violence from police. The chant "Kill the Bill!" was about stopping the new legislation, she said, and the chant "ACAB!" was for solidarity.
She admitted chanting "Shame on you!" after she had been hit with a police baton a couple of times. She conceded some language she directed to police was "a bit rude", and she also told a man who was complaining about what was happening to "Shut the f*** up".
York chanted and filmed at the front of the crowd, she said, and tried to talk to police. She did not intend her chanting to be aggressive or intimidating, the jury was told, and she recalled picking up a police baton and putting it to the side.
She recalled telling a mounted police officer to "Get off your high horse b****", intending it to be funny - though she conceded it now looked "a bit disrespectful". She said she protected a woman who had been hit by police. She was not there to fight the police or try to get into Bridewell police station, she said.
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There came a time when York moved away from the vicinity of the police station and went to her boyfriend's home in Bedminster. She watched livestreams of events and, shattered and in pain, she dealt with her injuries, she said. She didn't feel it was fair she had been struck by police, but as she watched livestreams she didn't like the fact she had left the scene.
She decided to walk back to the protest, she said. York told the jury she arrived in the Bridewell police station area around 9pm or 10pm. She saw people in the nearby car park, a lot of smashed glass and a small bin on fire. York recalled picking up a bin, with a man, near a burning police car and rolling it down the street.
She thought it might make a good obstruction between the people and police, she said, but after she pushed the bin it rolled towards the police car. She said she did not intend the bin to be damaged by the burning police car, and did not intend risk to anyone.
York did not recall saying to police "We will burn your f****** car". She said by then it was quite late and she was in a lot of pain and she was angry, having been treated in a way she did not expect, but it was not related to anything she had done before.
She said she had not taunted a police dog which bit her. She said the next day she attended hospital after sustaining injuries to her shoulder and leg. York admitted that, fearing arrest, she destroyed her footage that incriminated anyone at the protest. When interviewed by police she answered no comment to questions after taking legal advice.
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