Father-of-four jailed after threatening to burn down every Newcastle mosque in TikTok video

James Aspin was jailed for 20 months after posting the four-minute video

Mugshot of James Aspin (Northumbria Police/PA Wire)

A father-of-four has been jailed after threatening to burn down every mosque in Newcastle during the summer riots.

James Aspin was jailed for 20 months after posting what a judge called a “hugely offensive and dangerous” four-minute TikTok video on 8 August, shortly after the murder of three girls in Southport.

The 34-year-old, of Briardale Road, Blyth, Northumberland, who had 921 followers on the platform, said he was drunk when he made the recording. He admitted to distributing a recording intending to stir up racial hatred at Newcastle Crown Court.

Judge Carolyn Scott, sentencing, said: “The wording used by you in that TikTok video was hugely offensive and dangerous.

“You referenced people who practise Islam as being largely responsible for awful crimes committed in this country. You spoke about asylum seekers in a despicable way.

“You stated that you and others at the planned march in Newcastle would burn down every mosque in Newcastle.”

After he was arrested, he told police: “No-one can say anything these days.”

The judge said the video was made at a time when there was widespread violence in the country and the recording was meant to encourage others to act.

The judge said the video was made at a time when there was widespread violence in the country and the recording was meant to encourage others to act. (PA Wire)

She said mitigating factors included Aspin’s ADHD diagnosis, his remorse and she gave him credit for his guilty plea.

The judge found that his offending was so serious that the sentence could not be suspended, saying: “The words used by you on your TikTok post are not and should not be tolerated.

“Such words could and do, on some occasions, result in action being taken by others which have a serious impact on the lives of other people.”

At least 388 people had been jailed over the violent disorder during the summer as of 3 October, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Riots broke out in late July after three young girls were killed in an attack on a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport. Far-right rioters targetted mosques and chanted racist slogans over several days of violence which followed.