It is now two weeks since violence and disorder broke out in Bristol city centre as far right protesters clashed with police and counter protesters in Castle Park, on Bristol Bridge and then on Redcliff Hill, in an evening of disturbances.
Police have now arrested a total of 29 people in connection with the disorder, with seven more people still the subject of a wanted appeal. We have listed them below and have photos of those police still wish to question.
Of those 29, some have been charged, appeared in court and are already in jail, others are going through the legal process, and more have been arrested and could be charged at a later date. A few are on the run from police.
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This week saw the first people jailed in connection with the disorder in Bristol on Saturday, August 3, and their sentencing hearings were followed by a strongly worded statement from both the leading Crown Prosecutor and a senior police chief.
Avon and Somerset’s deputy chief constable Jon Reilly said the scenes in Bristol on that Saturday evening were ‘shameful’, and said the police and Bristol as a whole ‘can’t tolerate behaviour like that’.
Bristol Live has pulled together a comprehensive summary of what we know about every single one of those jailed, charged or arrested following the events of August 3.
Of the 29 people now arrested, 15 have been charged already, and six of those have already been jailed. One of the remaining 14 has been released with no further action taken. Some have been fast-tracked through the courts, with appearances in magistrates courts a day after their arrest and charge, guilty pleas and sentencing just days later. Almost all are being charged with violent disorder, and are being jailed typically for between for around two years.
Jailed
Zak Baker
Zak Baker claimed to police after he was arrested that he had been out shopping in the city centre when he decided to join the far right protest. He was filmed on police body-worn cameras confronting the front line of riot police on Bristol Bridge.
The judge described his actions as ‘being like a boxer moving around a ring’. A video shown to the court showed him bouncing up and down and advancing aggressively towards police.
The 29-year-old was jailed by the judge for 28 months.
Jamie Easterbrook
Jamie Easterbrook, 43, admitted a charge of violent disorder for his part in the riot. He was arrested last Saturday, August 10, at his home, a week after the Castle Park disorder, was and will start a 20-month prison sentence today, Saturday, within a fortnight.
Easterbrook was photographed extensively in Castle Park confronting the police while holding the flag of St George, and was pushed away by police in riot gear and fell onto his backside.
An image of him was published on the front page of the Bristol Post on the edition of Monday, August 5, immediately after the weekend’s riots.
Bristol Crown Court was told on Friday, August 16, that Easterbrook was again pushed away by police on Bristol Bridge, and again fell over, before getting up and pushing the police back, trying to grab an officer’s bodyworn camera and confronting a dog handler before he was bitten by a police dog and arrested.
Easterbrook told police he had attended Bristol City’s pre-season friendly at Ashton Gate earlier on that Saturday afternoon and ‘met friends after’ in the city centre, before joining the far right protest at Castle Park.
Read more: Middle-aged Bristol man admits role in Castle Park riot
Mark Bowen
Mark Bowen, 40, from the village of Burton, in Wiltshire, was jailed for 25 months after he pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder. The court heard that Bowen had drunk up to ten pints of cider that day, before joining the far right protesters in Castle Park.
He was one of the group who got through police lines and made it to the outside of the Mercure Hotel, in Redcliffe. He was in a group shouting ‘we want our country back’, as the crowd threw objects at police and members of the public who had lined up to physically protect the entrance to the hotel. Police bodycam footage captured him telling police: “Shame on you, you horrible c****, I hope it’s your f****** kids next, mate.”
Representing Bowen, Giles Nelson said his client had been homeless for seven years and does not have social media. Referring to the comments made to police, Mr Nelson said: “He is mortified by that. He is deeply disgusted with himself.”
Bowen told police he believed he had been attending ‘a football celebration’, but Judge Moira Macmillan said she did not accept this was true. Sentencing Bowen, the judge said police dogs and horses were attacked during the rally, with police officers also assaulted.
Read more: Drunken rioter Mark Bowen told Bristol police ‘I hope your kids are next’ after Southport stabbings
Addressing Bowen, she said: “You were swearing and you were being highly abusive to the police. You said to them ‘You horrible c****, I hope it’s your f****** kids next, mate’. It was a despicable thing for you to say. You became part of the angry mob.”
Daniel Russell
Daniel Russell, 47, from Redfield in Bristol. He pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder and was jailed for two years and eight months. He was seen kicking a black man in Castle Park, at least twice, squaring up to police and was also seen later kicking out at other protesters who were protecting the Mercure Hotel.
Read next: Watch far-right rioter Daniel Russell kick black man and square up to police during Bristol riot
Read more: Police chief welcomes lengthy sentences for far-right Castle Park rioters
In mitigation, his defence lawyer told the court he had been shot in the head by a pellet gun as a child, and had learning difficulties.
“Mr Russell is profoundly ashamed of his actions on that day. He apologises to those that had to witness it, those that had to experience it in uniform, and to the community at large.”
Dominic Capaldi
Dominic Capaldi, 34, from Bishopsworth in South Bristol, pleaded guilty to violent disorder for his part in the August 3 riot. He was jailed for 34 months on Thursday, his child’s seventh birthday.
He was first filmed throwing objects at the line of police, including mounted police, separating the far-right protesters in Castle Park with the counter protesters.
He was also one who made it to the hotel in Redcliffe, and was filmed on police body-worn cameras throwing items at police and those protecting the hotel.
The groundworker was described by Judge Martin Picton as a ‘right-wing extremist and racist’. His defence lawyer said he ‘recognises now with retrospect the foolishness of his actions on that day’.
Read more about Capaldi’s case here.
Lisa Bishop
Lisa Bishop, 38, from Lawrence Weston, pleaded guilty on Thursday this week to a charge of violent disorder for her part in the disturbances at Castle Park and in Redcliffe, and on Friday she was jailed for 26 months.
The mum-of-five was filmed shouting ‘F*** you! F*** you! Kiss my f***ing a***! Kiss my fat a***!” at counter-protesters in Castle Park, and was involved in the disorder during the rest of the day. The court heard she was one of those who moved from Castle Park to the Mercure hotel, and was ‘at the forefront’ of the mob.
Judge Martin Picton told the defendant: “The group that you were part of made its way to the Mercure hotel intent on targeting the asylum seekers living there, thus causing them considerable fear.
“Again you were at the forefront, gesturing and shouting at the police as you drank more alcohol. The group of which you were part was getting increasingly agitated and aggressive and your actions must have contributed to this.
“There was genuine fear among those police officers that they would be overwhelmed and there would be general mayhem,” he added. The court heard Bishop has said she is “disgusted and ashamed at her behaviour”.
Guilty
A number of those involved have appeared in court, and pleaded guilty, but are still awaiting sentencing. These include a 15-year-old boy who is the youngest so far to be arrested as part of the police investigation into the disorder on August 3.
Boy, 15
He cannot be named for legal reasons. He pleaded guilty to a charge of violent disorder this week in court, and his sentencing hearing has been scheduled for September 3. He was not remanded in custody and has been released on bail.
Elly-Jane Cox
Elly-Jane Cox, 33, from Bishopsworth also pleaded guilty in court on Thursday to a charge of violent disorder, and was sentenced on Friday this week, in relation to her actions on August 3 in Castle Park. Video from the evening in Castle Park showed Cox shouting ‘scumbags’ from the crowd, and throwing a can at the counter protesters and police.
When she appeared before Bristol Magistrates Court on Thursday, she was asked how she would plead and replied: “Yeah, I’m guilty”. Her sentencing hearing has been adjourned to October 1.
Joseph Bradford
Joseph Bradford, 20, from Bishopsworth in South Bristol, was charged with vioient disorder and pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. He was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court on Friday. When he appeared in court on Tuesday, he was supported by ten family members.
Prosecutor Stephen Sadler said Bradford had been at the heart of the disorder. Video footage and CCTV showed he was right at the front line on Bristol Bridge, ‘amping up the crowd’, ‘encouraging chanting’, had thrown a can at the police line and been part of a group that rushed at the police, forcing them backwards, three times.
His defence lawyer said he had acted ‘with the naivety of youth’. His sentencing hearing has been adjourned to September 20 to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Bradley McCarthy
McCarthy, 34, of Knowle, Bristol was charged with violent disorder and was appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Thursday this week. He indicated a guilty plea and was remanded in custody to appear before Bristol Crown Court for sentencing on Tuesday, August 20.
Charged
In the past two weeks, Avon and Somerset police have announced that the following people have been charged in connection with the August 3 events.
Benjamin Tavener, 35, of Poskett Way, Charfield, South Gloucestershire, was charged with violent disorder and causing unnecessary suffering to a horse in Castle Park and appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ court on Wednesday this week, August 14. He was remanded in custody and will next appear at Bristol Crown Court on September 9.
Cassius Adamson, 19, from Bristol, was charged with one count of violent disorder last week and appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, August 10. Avon and Somerset police said he was remanded in custody to appear at Bristol Crown Court ‘at a later date’.
Ashley Harris, 36, of Chipperfield Drive in Kingswood, was one of the first to be charged following the disturbances. He appeared before Bristol Magistrates’ on Tuesday, August 6, charged with violent disorder. He was remanded in custody and his case was sent to Bristol Crown Court where he will next appear on September 9.
Adrian Croft, 45, from Holywell in Flintshire, north Wales, was charged with a Section 4 public order offence and with possession of cocaine. He appeared before magistrates last Thursday and was released on bail to appear again at the magistrates’ court on Thursday, September 5.
Damien Williams, 39, of Stockwood Crescent in Knowle Park, was also charged with a Section 4 public order offence – and was also bailed to re-appear at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on September 5.
Arrested
Avon and Somerset police do not routinely name people they arrest, and only release their names publicly if or when they are charged with an offence.
We do know that a total of 29 people have now been arrested – the 29th was a man in his 30s who was arrested on Thursday night. Of those 29, 15 have been charged, one released without further action and ‘inquiries remain ongoing in relation to the other’ 13 who have been arrested but not yet charged.
The still wanted
Avon and Somerset police have published a series of images of individuals they want to identify in connection with the disorder in Bristol that Saturday, August 3.
The number of images has reduced in the week or so since the images were first published, as police have identified and arrested those pictured, but there are still seven men outstanding who police are still appealing for the public’s help to identify.
Each of the people in the seven images has been given a code-letter by police, and people who know who they are are being asked to go on the police’s website and fill in a form to assist the police, call 101 or visit Crimestoppers.