Jail for man who claimed online he would “get away with” Kent mosque attack

A man has been jailed for six monthsafter smearing bacon on the door of a mosque.

Marcus Edwards, 44, was in Gillingham on Sunday August 11, when he recorded the moment he smeared rashers of bacon on a mosque and claimed to people online that he would get away with it as the justice system would do nothing.

At his first appearance at the Magistrates’ court, Edwards was told his offence was in the “same bracket as the current civil unrest” and it was “hard to see how his action could be more distressing to the Muslim community”. 

In his online post, Edwards threatened to “trash a mosque every day” and claimed his case would not even be referred to the Crown Court.

Edwards was sentenced to six months imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court, after the Crown Prosecution Service successfully applied for an uplifted sentence due to the hate crime element of his offending.

Chief Crown Prosecutor, Kris Venkatasami from Crown Prosecution Service South East, said: “This was an abhorrent attack on a mosque and exceptionally distressing to our local Muslim community at a time when they are already feeling vulnerable because of recent events elsewhere in the country. 

“Edwards arrogantly thought he would escape justice and tauntingly suggested he would ‘get away’ with targeting a place of worship. Within five days, he has been identified, convicted and faced the full force of the law.

“The tough prison sentence handed down today, after the CPS successfully applied for a hate crime uplift, proves there is nowhere to hide for those who are intent on spreading hate, malice and prejudice in our communities.”