News / Crime
First men sentenced for violence at anti-immigration rally
Three men sent to prison for a total of more than seven and a half years have become the first to be sentenced following the violence on Bristol’s streets on August 3.
The three men all sentenced for violent disorder are Dominic Capaldi, 35, of Sherrin Way in Withywood, who has been sentenced to 34 months; Daniel Russell, 47, of Church Road in Redfield, sentenced to 32 months; and Mark Bowen, 40, who is homeless and has been sentenced to 25 months.
The trio appeared separately on Wednesday at Bristol Crown, where one judge described the group they were with on that Saturday as being a “violent mob” engaged in “mindless violence”.
is needed now More than ever
The court was told of the “blatant visceral racism” that took place over the course of the afternoon and evening as an anti-immigration rally in Castle Park was followed by an attempted attack on a hotel housing asylum seekers.
Judges were also told that some communities in Bristol now have “lasting wounds that may never fully heal”.
Russell’s defence lawyer described him as “not a particularly sophisticated protester”, while Bowen was called “very naïve” and someone who was “clearly caught up in the crowd”, a similar story to Capaldi who was said to have “got caught up in matters”.
Capaldi threw objects at police officers in Castle Park and was part of the group that attempted to attack the Mercure Hotel on Redcliff Hill.
Russell, who is a grandfather, threw multiple punches at a Black counter-protester in Castle Park and was part of the group that attempted to attack the Mercure Hotel on Redcliff Hill which houses asylum seekers.
Bowen played a more “limited role” but the judge told him what he said to officers on Bristol Bridge before joining the group outside the Mercure had been “despicable”.
Despite claiming that he initially thought he was joining a football-related event, Bowen was caught on camera telling police: “Shame on you, you horrible cunts. I hope it’s your fucking kids next, mate.”
Before sentencing Russell, judge Moira MacMillan said that the families with young children sheltering inside the hotel “must have been terrified”.
“I can only imagine how frightening that experience must have been and what the long-term impact would be on this group of vulnerable people including young mothers and children who you targeted while they were sheltering inside.
“Social media clips show an angry mob using mindless violence. You chose to be part of the mob on that occasion and to engage in that mindless violence.
“What might have happened to hotel staff and to the families sheltering in that hotel had your group been successful in forcing your way in does not bare thinking about.”
A group of counter-protesters heroically defended the hotel from the racist attack in almost the complete absence of police until reinforcements arrived.
Footage shown in court from one police officer’s body-worn camera picked him up on microphone as he and a handful of colleagues on bicycles attempted to keep the two groups apart, saying: “Where are they? For fuck’s sake!”
Officers on bicycles attempted to hold back a violent racist mob who were intent on attacking the Mercure hotel which houses asylum seekers – photo: Martin Booth
On sentencing Capaldi, judge Martin Picton said: “The group of which you were part… made its way to the Mercure Hotel targeting by so doing the asylum seekers living there, thus causing them considerable fear.
“You were captured on film a second time throwing things at the police, those officers trying to control the situation and prevent it escalating into even more serious violence.
“Others were by now joining in and imitating your actions. The level of threat to the police was at this stage growing.
“The officers immediately in front of the group of which you were part were clearly outnumbered and calling for assistance.
“As far as can be seen from the footage there were just two officers standing between opposing groups present outside the hotel.
“The officers showed remarkable bravery in trying to keep people safe. Shortly after you and others can be seen to throw items at the police the group surged at the officers attacking them.
“Whilst our law properly protects the right of peaceful protest, and does not seek to criminalise the holding of views even where those may be abhorrent to the vast majority of the community, what it does not and will not tolerate is resort to violence and threats.
“This was the first post-Southport protest in Bristol to turn violent, but it has to be seen in the context of coordinated action on the part of extremists to cause violence and by so doing to generate fear on the part of the community as a whole.”
Main photos: Avon & Somerset Police
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
