A man has been given a suspended prison sentence after being convicted of throwing what appeared to be a coffee cup at Nigel Farage during the general election campaign.
Josh Greally, 28, was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, at Barnsley magistrates court after throwing items at the Reform UK leader who was campaigning in the South Yorkshire town.
Greally, of Clowne, Derbyshire, was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity days, and pay £85 court costs and a surcharge of £154.
A district judge said the offence was serious enough to merit a jail term, but suspended the sentence as there was a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation”.
Greally had previously pleaded guilty to a public order offence in relation to the incident, which took place on 11 June in Barnsley town centre.
Greally was quickly arrested by police after he threw what appeared to be a coffee cup as well as another object at the politician, who was making a speech from the top deck of an open-top bus.
Farage, who is now the MP for Clacton, was standing at the top of the stairs on the vehicle, along with Reform UK supporters and journalists, when he heard the action and ducked.
At an earlier hearing in June, the judge Tim Spruce said it appeared that the first item Greally threw at the politician was a coffee cup, but it was not clear what the second object was, adding that it could have been another cup or some paper.
Greally had reached into a bin and taken out the second object, which he also threw towards the bus, the court heard at the sentencing hearing.
Neither of the objects hit Farage. The incident was captured on mobile phone footage but it was not possible to ascertain what the objects were, the court heard.
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Sentencing Greally, the district judge James Gould said he had targeted a politician campaigning “in our democratic country”.
Gould told the defendant: “Politicians know they will face robust opposition, but that must never spill over into violence or intimidation. That is not the pursuit of free speech, it is an attempt to silence voices of opposition.”
In mitigation, the court heard that Greally, who has no previous convictions, had attended protests before but “this seems to be the first time he has stepped over the line”.
Source: theguardian.com
