A MEMBER of a far right political protest outside York Minster has been fined and ordered to pay £525 by the city’s magistrates for a racist comment.
Chad Mark Williams Allen, 25, travelled from his home in the West Midlands to join the demonstration by National Action, a neo-Nazi and British nationalist group, on May 28.
Four of the protestors, including Allen, and a member of the public were arrested when the protest got out of hand and police had to step in to calm the situation. Officers escorted the unarrested members of the protest group back to the railway station and out of the city.
Beth Richardson, prosecuting, said Allen called out a racist remark during the disturbance, but no-one had come forward to say that the remark had been directed at them.
Allen, of Tantany Lane, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to a racial harassment offence under the Crime and Disorder Act which can only be punished by a fine.
He was fined £400, plus £85 prosecution costs and a £40 statutory surcharge.
For him, duty solicitor Mark Whitfield said he had had limited involvement with the group and since the incident had left it because he did not agree with their views or the way they expressed them.
The member of the public arrested at the scene was released without charge. The protestors who was arrested, were later released on bail pending further enquiries.
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