Luton man guilty of protest march race attack

BBC News | Friday, 5 March 2010 | Click here for original article

A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of racially aggravated assault during a violent protest in Bedfordshire.

Kier McElroy hit an Asian man with a banner in a shop doorway in Chapel Street, Luton, on 24 May last year.

Jurors at Luton Crown Court found McElroy guilty of racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm on student Venkateswara Muppalla.

Judge Michael Kay remanded McElroy, of Langford Drive, Luton, in custody, to be sentenced on 24 March.

He had earlier admitted assaulting the student occasioning him actual bodily harm by hitting him over the head with a banner, but denied he was racist.

He also pleaded guilty to a second charge of affray, which resulted from his actions that day when he said he was drunk.

The assaulted Asian man was cornered by a group of people marching in protest over an earlier demonstration by a group of Muslims at a parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment in Luton.