Two men have been jailed for throwing a smoke grenade and a traffic cone at police during violent protests in Southampton following the sentencing of Henry Nowak's killer. Leon O'Leary, 41, from Basingstoke, received a sentence of three years and one month after he launched a smoke grenade at law enforcement officers. Connor Bishop, 24, from Southampton, who threw a traffic cone, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.
Both individuals pleaded guilty to violent disorder. O'Leary also admitted to possessing an offensive weapon, specifically a samurai sword that police discovered in his bedroom during his arrest.
Background of the Incident
Henry Nowak, 18, was stabbed to death, and his father, Mark, condemned the police's treatment of his son, describing it as 'inhumane and degrading' after officers handcuffed him while he was dying. He urged that Henry's death not be exploited to foster division, hatred, or tension.
The day after Vickrum Digwa was sentenced for the murder and footage of the incident emerged, a crowd gathered for an anti-police demonstration outside Southampton central police station. Among the protesters was far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson.
Hundreds of people moved to the Portswood area of the city, where Nowak was murdered and Digwa lived. Violent clashes resulted in 11 officers being injured. So far, 21 people have been charged in connection with the disorder.
Court Proceedings
Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley told Southampton Crown Court that approximately 1,000 people attended the demonstration, with about a quarter consuming alcohol. 'Significant disorder broke out with participants acting particularly aggressively towards the police,' she said. 'They were shouting abuse and throwing makeshift projectiles such as bricks and bins towards them.'
Linsley noted that O'Leary, who had nine previous convictions, was seen launching a smoke grenade. Regarding Bishop, she stated: 'He can be seen carrying a yellow traffic cone which he throws towards the back of the PSU [police support unit] officers.' Bishop, who has seven convictions, was already under a community order for elbowing his mother after an argument with his then-girlfriend.
A statement from British Transport Police officer Ruby Stephenson, who was present at the disturbance, was read out in court. 'I was chased by protesters who were calling us traitors and scum. I was abused, called names and threatened,' she said. 'I was terrified and I did not think I would make it out of there alive or without serious injuries. I have been a police officer for 12 years and I have never experienced such violence or hatred towards the police.'
Defense lawyer Thomas Evans argued: 'They are not the instigators of this disorder; they are an inevitable result of other individuals who seek to harness anger.'
Robinson posted on X: 'Starmer's regime has begun mass jailing the English for the protest in Southampton.'
Digwa, 23, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years for Nowak's murder after falsely claiming that the teenager had racially abused him.
