On Sunday afternoon, a homeless mother of five left her hotel room in Middlesbrough to pop into a nearby shop. On her way, 34-year-old Stacey Vint met some locals she knew and joined them as they headed to what was described on social media as a ‘pro-British’ protest in the city centre.
Five days later, she was sentenced to 20 months in prison for violent disorder, involving a riot involving 1,000 people in which police destroyed homes, cars and public buildings.
A lawyer representing Vint, who had been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis that day, told Teesside Crown Court her involvement was “simple”.
“One of the people in the group she was with asked her to help him with a bin that had been set on fire, and she did so,” Andrew Turton said. “She foolishly grabbed the bin, pushed it towards the police and fell at their feet.”
A 10-second video of the incident, which has already gone viral and been ridiculed on social media, shows Vint and an unidentified man wheeling the burning garbage can toward a line of officers before the garbage can spirals out of control, knocking her to the ground.
The shattered windows of Teesside Crown Court were still boarded up as Judge Francis Laird KC sentenced Vint, telling her the “large-scale act of public disorder” had caused significant physical and financial damage to her home, traumatised police officers and terrified residents.
The judge ruled that Vint had no racist or ideological motives for her offence, but that her sentence should be increased because of the scale of the riot, its impact and the “background of other violent incidents” across the country.
The court heard Vint’s life had been ravaged by drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence, and she had also become homeless after fleeing an abusive relationship and placing all five of her children in foster care.
As Vint sat impassively in the dock, dressed in a grey tracksuit, Turton said she had “expressed her shame and regret” and “understood that the court had to impose deterrent sentences”.
Such sentences were handed out at a remarkable pace across England and Wales on Friday, with Vint just one of more than 300 people charged so far with offences linked to violent protests and riots that erupted after the killings of three young girls in Southport on July 29. Initially sparked by false online claims that the perpetrator was a Muslim migrant in a small boat, far-right influencers and conspiracy theorists called on people to take to the streets, amplifying planned protests in dozens of cities and towns.
Although the misinformation was debunked within a day, demonstrations advertised across social media under vague slogans such as “enough is enough,” “save our children” and “protect our country” became a vehicle for broader anti-Muslim, racist and xenophobic anger.
But at Teesside Crown Court on Friday, there was little inquiry into the motivations of rioters. Evidence of an offender’s mindset is not needed to prove the offence of violent disorder, nor other common charges against rioters such as assault and criminal damage.
Also sentenced with Vint was 21-year-old Charlie Bullock, who was seen throwing stones at police with his face covered by a balaclava during the Middlesbrough riots. He fought off police who tried to arrest him and when he was eventually apprehended said: “I didn’t give a shit.” He was given an 18-month prison sentence, with the sentence reduced due to his young age and evidence that his behaviour may have been affected by not taking ADHD medication.
Like Vint, he refused to answer questions during police interrogations and pleaded guilty to violent disorder without having to testify in court. However, it was also established that he had no racial or ideological motivations.
When the time came to sentence a third rioter, who had thrown stones at police in Darlington on Monday 5 August, the issue proved not to be so easily resolved.
Cole Stewart, 18, admitted firing the missiles at a line of officers clearing protesters from a mosque, but claimed a police van was his target and that he did not hold racist or far-right views. “He arrived at the protest, having been drinking, and got involved because everyone else was doing it,” said defence lawyer Gary Wood. But prosecutors told the court it was a “racially motivated attack” and the teenager’s sentence should be increased accordingly. Judge Laird said a “trial of issues” would be held if no agreement could be reached.
Two other rioters due to be sentenced last Friday had their cases delayed, including a man who was driven from HMP Darlington to Newcastle instead of Middlesbrough “by mistake” and another prisoner who refused to leave his cell.
Keir Starmer has promised “swift justice” for those guilty of disorder. As Director of Public Prosecutions, he was responsible for the controversial use of 24-hour courts and the tougher sentences imposed on more than 2,000 adults and children convicted of the 2011 riots.
Legal experts are urging the current government to learn from this response and not again fail to properly investigate the causes of this Tory disarray.
Tim Newburn, professor of criminology at the London School of Economics, said the priority was “procedural speed” and sentencing over a deeper assessment of how and why the 2011 riots spread.
“The danger in all these cases is that we reach for a simplistic explanation and that becomes dominant,” he added. “There is a chance that what comes out in court is more complex than the political or mainstream story. If you don’t investigate, you miss the opportunity to limit future problems.”
Dr Hannah Quirk, a lecturer in criminal justice at King’s College London, said history had shown that “people just love to riot… some have really nasty motives and others are just vulnerable and get involved”.
She said the current disorder was much smaller in scale than in 2011 but was similarly “localised” and exacerbated by allegations of racially biased policing.
Related: There are no excuses. The UK riots were violent racism fueled by populism | David Olusoga
Thom Brooks, professor of law and government at Durham University, said the “extraordinary” speed of convictions was made possible by a wave of guilty pleas, and was likely to slow as more complex cases reached court. “There has been a huge effort to get cases to trial straight away, for the obvious reason of deterring people,” he added. “There also appears to be a campaign on social media by police and prosecutors, naming and shaming people.”
Minutes after Vint and Bullock were jailed on Friday, Cleveland police published their arrest photos alongside news of their sentences on Facebook. The posts were met with a chorus of jokes, celebrations and applause emojis. Bullock’s mother was the only one to show her support at Teesside Crown Court. She held her head in her hands as his sentence was handed down and then tried to talk to the teenager as he was led to the cells.
As she was helped out of the courtroom by a friend, staff were already preparing for Monday, when a new group of rioters will take the dock to hear what happened to them.