Pair jailed for sharing racist Snapchat video targeted at Priti Patel

Two men who “demonstrated hostility towards racial groups” by sharing a racist Snapchat video targeted at Home Secretary Priti Patel have been jailed.

Jake Henderson was accused of “inciting racial hatred” after posting the 50-second video on the social media platform, which has since been viewed “millions of times”.

Henderson, who had previously attended an English Defence League rally, could be heard on the video saying: “As a white man, I won’t be listening to people of colour.”

A second man, Robert Cumming, admitted sharing the video on his own Snapchat group along with the caption “Haters gonna be hating”, followed by four laughing emojis.

Prosecutor Daniel Church said Cumming’s decision to share the video was “effectively an endorsement for what Mr Henderson was saying”.

Henderson, 28, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, and Cumming, 26, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to a single charge of sending a grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message or matter via a public communication network.

At Mansfield Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, Henderson was handed a 10-week prison sentence while Cumming was jailed for six weeks.

Sentencing Henderson and Cumming, District Judge Andrew Meachin said: “I doubt the potential consequences can be quantified.

“Mr Henderson clearly knew what he was doing when he made the video clip and Mr Cumming clearly knew what he was doing when he shared it on.”

The judge said he had considered suspending the prison sentence, but the racially aggravated nature of the offences had persuaded him not to.

The court was previously told the video was recovered by police from the phone of Henderson’s partner.

Henderson had been cautioned on a separate matter by police in March 2015 for threatening to firebomb a taxi company because he heard they were “displaying Isis flags”.

Mr Church read parts of the video and some of Henderson’s views to the court, with one of them saying: “A black man’s place is under a white man.”

Another view read to the court was that he “wished he could round up all ethnic minorities and put them in a cage”.

A member of the public had also expressed “concern” over Henderson’s beliefs that people from Pakistan are “rapists”, describing his views as “deeply offensive”.

Other statements from members of the public said the video demonstrated the defendant’s “extreme ideological views”.

Putting forward mitigation for Henderson, his solicitor said the defendant “was having a difficult time at work” and “found lockdown particularly difficult” – adding: “In drink, he made a horrid video and is exceptionally sorry for what has happened.”

Janine Smith, CPS chief crown prosecutor in the East Midlands, said: “This video and the vile sentiments expressed targeted individuals and communities and caused widespread distress and concern. The CPS has treated the case as a hate crime from the outset.

“We presented comprehensive evidence about Henderson’s background, including previous offences, demonstration of expressing views of extreme prejudice and association with a far-right group to demonstrate that this is not an isolated incident, but part of a concerning pattern of behaviour, fuelled by extreme views.

“And we have been clear to the court that in reposting the video, Cumming was endorsing Henderson’s hate for these people and communities.”

Ms Smith continued: “Henderson has admitted to the court that he acted out of hostility to people from different ethnic backgrounds and Cumming admitted that his actions demonstrated hostility.

“As this is a hate crime, we applied to the court to uplift the sentence and the court has taken this on board by passing an immediate custodial sentence instead of a suspended sentence.”