Protests are an important and vital way for people who feel that their voices aren’t being heard to express themselves. They are a way for people to gather and speak about injustices they face in a way that commands attention from a larger audience due to large groups of people gathering together. Protests are meant to be orderly ways to exercise freedom of speech, but sometimes things get out of hand, and generally, they are not a place for small children.
A mother in the UK was sentenced to community service after participating in a protest that quickly turned into a riot. She was scolded by the judge for having her toddler in with her while she participated.
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The mother barely participated in the riot.
Nevey Smith, 21, brought her 20-month-old son in a stroller to a protest outside of a Holiday Inn in Newton Heath, Manchester, England. She proceeded to throw water on police officers trying to keep the violence at bay, The Telegraph reported. People were throwing bricks, broken bottles, and eggs at the building, which was housing asylum seekers.
The young woman seemed to not understand what she was there for.
The outlet reported that Smith’s lawyer, Daniel Calder, told the court that Smith claimed to not even know what an asylum seeker was.
Judge Patrick Field KC said to Smith during sentencing, “You chose to join, notwithstanding that you had your 20-month-old child in a pushchair. What on Earth were you thinking? I doubt you had his safety in mind.”
The judge gave Smith a stern talking to.
Additionally, the judge told Smith that she had a “lot to learn” and she had “quite a lot of growing up to do.” He also called her “misguided, naive and immature.”
The judge deemed her role in the riot “minimal and peripheral” since she hadn’t thrown any bricks, nor had she encouraged others to do so.
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Her sentence was light.
Calder told the court that Smith hadn’t planned to go to the protest that day, instead she “foolishly” got involved when she passed by. He also said she hadn’t expressed any discriminatory views.
Smith was given community service and ordered to attend reviews at a women’s problem-solving court and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
