Woman convicted for hate incident at Nottingham rally
A woman from West Hallam in Derbyshire has been convicted of racially or religiously aggravated harassment, assaulting an emergency worker, and using threatening words or behaviour to stir up hatred following an incident at the far-right rally in Nottingham at the weekend.
Victoria Jayne Gray, 42, was arrested after pushing an officer policing the incident in Long Row. After she was arrested, she shouted a series of offensive racist and homophobic comments and went on to spit on one of the officers arresting her. She was charged on Sunday 4 August and appeared on Monday 5 August at Nottingham Magistrates Court, where she also faced a charge of possession of a weapon for taking a can of pepper spray to the scene. Gray pleaded guilty to all five charges and was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months and ordered to attend 15 days of rehabilitation activity. She was also fined £200 for the racially aggravated harassment, an increase from £100 as it was identified as a hate crime. On top of the sentence, Gray was also ordered to pay £239 in compensation.
Janine McKinney, of CPS East Midlands, said: “Prosecutors have worked around the clock to ensure those who behave in this way are quickly brought to justice.
“We are unequivocally clear: Whatever your motivation for targeting police, inciting hatred or wreaking havoc on your community, you will face the full force of the law.
“We ensured this offender appeared before the court straight away. She will now live with the consequences of her actions for the rest of her life.”
Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said: “Our prosecutors are continuing to work closely with police to build the strongest possible cases, making rapid charging decisions and getting those involved in these shameful acts of violence and thuggery before the courts as quickly as possible.
“The work of the criminal justice system will continue in overdrive over the coming days to build the cases against the people who have been arrested and to identify the many others who have been involved.
“Justice is coming for those who have rained chaos on their local streets and to secure this, the CPS will act swiftly, working alongside our partners in the criminal justice system.”
Notes to editors
- The Director of Public Prosecutions has instructed prosecutors to authorise criminal charges immediately once police present the minimum evidence needed to meet the threshold for a charge, so those arrested can be put before the courts without delay.
- The CPS has deployed extra lawyers– including dozens of prosecutors on call over the weekend – to bolster our 24/7 out-of-hours charging service and make sure there is sufficient capacity to charge suspects at any time of day in every part of the country.
- This case is one of the eight charges announced by Nottinghamshire police on 6 August
- Janine McKinney is Chief Crown Prosecutor at CPS East Midlands
- Victoria Jayne Gray was sentenced as follows:
- Assaulting an emergency worker: 4 months
- Assaulting an emergency worker: 3 months (concurrent)
- Possession of weapon (Pepper spray): 2 months (consecutive)
- Using threatening or abusive words or behaviour intending to stir up racial hatred: Fine £200
- Using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress: 3 months (concurrent)
- Prison sentences suspended for 12 months
- 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement
- Compensation to the assault victim
- Forfeiture and destruction of the pepper spray.