A woman who took an 11-year-old boy to a violent riot at a hotel filled with asylum seekers has responded with fury after being jailed for 27 months.
Aimie Hodgkinson-Hedgecox, 37, from Tamworth, Staffordshire, shouted “it’s a joke, it’s a f*****g p******e” towards friends and relatives in the gallery at Stafford Crown Court as she was sentenced.
The defendant, who has 14 previous convictions involving 30 offences, pleaded guilty to violent disorder following the incident at the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth.
She was among hundreds involved in the summer riot, during which protesters targeted the hotel housing asylum seekers.
During the riot, Hodgkinson-Hedgecox was recorded shouting “incendiary and racist” comments at police officers who were protecting asylum seekers at the hotel
Staffordshire Police
During the riot, Hodgkinson-Hedgecox was recorded shouting “incendiary and racist” comments at police officers who were protecting asylum seekers at the hotel.
Footage shown in court captured her wearing Crocs-style shoes and pulling the 11-year-old boy to safety as a firework was aimed at police officers.
The court heard she had initially planned to take the boy to a skate park but became caught up in the crowd when she decided to join the riot on August 4.
Her defence lawyer, Stephen Rudge, argued she was “not somebody who holds overtly racist views or opinions” and “bitterly regrets” getting involved.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
However, prosecutor Fiona Cortese revealed that Hodgkinson-Hedgecox admitted to shouting abuse about asylum seekers when she was arrested.
During the violent disorder, Hodgkinson-Hedgecox was seen “recording the unfolding violence”, according to Judge Jonathan Gosling.
The incident resulted in significant damage to the Holiday Inn Express, with petrol being poured inside the building and set alight.
Her involvement was captured in three video clips, after which she left the scene, the court was told.
Her defence team urged the court to consider unpaid community work as punishment instead of imprisonment
Google Street View
The riot was part of a wider pattern of disorder during the summer, with the Ministry of Justice reporting that 388 people had been jailed over similar incidents as of October 3.
Her defence team urged the court to consider unpaid community work as punishment instead of imprisonment.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Gosling emphasised that bringing an 11-year-old boy to the scene had seriously aggravated Hodgkinson-Hedgecox’s offence.
He said that Hodgkinson-Hedgecox’s actions were not “politics”, adding: “Nobody is being punished for expressing their own views.”
Judge Gosling added: “This was anarchy. You were lending support to an extremely violent racist protest… where lives were endangered.”
