Two men jailed for racist Snapchat video targeted at Priti Patel

12 August 2021, 18:48 | Updated: 12 August 2021, 18:52

Two men have been jailed for sharing a racist Snapchat video targeted at Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Jake Henderson, 28, from Nottinghamshire, was accused of "inciting racial hatred" after posting the 50-second video, which was viewed "millions of times".

In the video, he could be heard saying: "As a white man, I won't be listening to people of colour."

A second man, Robert Cumming, 26, from South Yorkshire, admitted to sharing the video on his own Snapchat group, captioning it "Haters gonna be hating" with four laughing emojis.

Prosecutor Daniel Church said Cumming's decision to share the video was "effectively an endorsement for what Mr Henderson was saying".

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At Mansfield Magistrates' Court on Thursday, Henderson was handed a 10-week prison sentence while Cumming was jailed for six weeks.

The pair previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of sending a grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message or matter via a public communication network.

Sentencing Henderson and Cumming, District Judge Andrew Meachin, said: "I doubt the potential consequences can be quantified.

"Mr Henderson clearly knew what he was doing when he made the video clip and Mr Cumming clearly knew what he was doing when he shared it on."

A suspended sentence was considered by the judge, however, the racially aggravated nature of the offences had persuaded him not to.

The court was previously told the video was recovered by police from the phone of Henderson's partner.

Mr Church read parts of the video and some of Henderson's views to the court, with one of them saying: "A black man's place is under a white man."

Another view read to the court was that he "wished he could round up all ethnic minorities and put them in a cage".

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In mitigation for Henderson, his solicitor said the defendant "was having a difficult time at work" and "found lockdown particularly difficult".

They added: "In drink, he made a horrid video and is exceptionally sorry for what has happened."

Janine Smith, CPS chief crown prosecutor in the East Midlands, said: "This video and the vile sentiments expressed targeted individuals and communities and caused widespread distress and concern.

"The CPS has treated the case as a hate crime from the outset.

"We presented comprehensive evidence about Henderson's background, including previous offences, demonstration of expressing views of extreme prejudice and association with a far-right group to demonstrate that this is not an isolated incident, but part of a concerning pattern of behaviour, fuelled by extreme views.

"And we have been clear to the court that in reposting the video, Cumming was endorsing Henderson's hate for these people and communities."

Ms Smith continued: "Henderson has admitted to the court that he acted out of hostility to people from different ethnic backgrounds and Cumming admitted that his actions demonstrated hostility.

"As this is a hate crime, we applied to the court to uplift the sentence and the court has taken this on board by passing an immediate custodial sentence instead of a suspended sentence."

Henderson had been cautioned on a separate matter by police in March 2015 for threatening to firebomb a taxi company because he heard they were "displaying Isis flags".