A leftist activist who mistakenly attacked a white Muslim man, thinking he was a ‘racist’ during a pro-immigration demonstration right after the Southport stabbings, has been spared jail time amid allegations of a ‘double standard in the justice system.’
Caroline Leneghan grabbed an iPhone from victim Dylan Fontaine and smashed it on the ground during a heated exchange at the event in Bournemouth.
The former NHS nurse then physically lunged at him when he attempted to pick it up.
Leneghan, judging solely by the man’s appearance, accused him of being a racist and fascist, provoking others to gather around him and causing the man to fear for his safety.
In fact Mr Fontaine, who is white, is a Muslim convert and was at the demonstration in support of asylum seekers.
The event was held just days after the civil unrest that occurred across the country in the wake of the Southport murders last summer.Â
Around that period, there had been violent incidents carried out by extreme right-wing organizations targeting mosques and accommodations for asylum seekers, all triggered by false information linking the Southport assailant, Axel Rudakubana, to being a Muslim seeking asylum.
Leneghan, 43, who has the Palestinian flag as her Facebook profile, denied charges of assault and criminal damage but was found guilty following a trial.
Left-wing activist Caroline Leneghan (pictured leaving Poole Magistrates Court in February)Â has been spared prison amid accusations of a two-tier system after she mistook white Muslim convert Dylan Fontaine as a ‘racist’ and assaulted him
Dylan Fontaine (pictured leaving Poole Magistrates Court in Februrary), was physically lunged at by Leneghan
Former NHS nurse Leneghan, 43, was found guilty of assault and criminal damage following a trial at Poole Magistrates Court
She had previously been warned by magistrates that her case would be treated in the context of the ‘widespread disorder’ that took place last summer after the murders of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.
Despite this and the fact Leneghan has shown no remorse, she walked free with a six month prison sentence suspended for two years.
District Judge Orla Austin said it was only the fact Leneghan was 20 weeks pregnant that she was not going to jail.
Her sentence is in sharp contrast to the scores of right-leaning protesters who have been given lengthy jail terms for public order offences during anti-immigration demonstrations after Southport.
One of the most severe sentences was handed to Lucy Connolly, a Northampton childminder, mother of a 12-year-old daughter and wife of a Tory councillor.
She was jailed for 31 months for stirring up racial hatred for a tweet on the night of the Southport killings.
Martin Houlden, the chairman of Reform UK Bournemouth, said on Thursday: ‘The case of Caroline Leneghan is yet more evidence of two tier policing.
‘Why has she been allowed to walk free after inciting actual physical violence toward a person at a demonstration when others such as mum Lucy Connolly, are serving jail sentences for nothing more than ill-advised Tweets?
The protest at the Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, where Caroline Leneghan turned on Dylan Fontaine on August 7 last yearÂ
‘Why is the Judiciary protecting those on the left?’
Last week, a Home Affairs select committee published a report that found there was no evidence of two-tier policing during the incidents of civil unrest last summer.
Magistrates in Poole heard that Leneghan went to the Roundhouse Hotel in Bournemouth on August 7 last year for a pro-immigration rally.
The hotel houses asylum seekers and it was thought the event might attract anti-immigration protesters.
Leneghan said she was there as part of the ‘Dorset Palestine Solidarity Campaign’ as she felt there was a ‘crossover’ with the plight of asylum seekers.
The Fontaine brothers said they had been made aware of the protest in the WhatsApp group BCP Against Racism.
The court heard that she took it upon herself ‘to decide who should or shouldn’t be there’ and singled out Mr Fontaine and his brother Steven, believing they were members of the far right. Â
But the pair were in fact practicing Muslims who were also there in solidarity with asylum seekers.
The Roundhouse hotel houses asylum seekers and it was thought the event, held in the wake of the Southport stabbings, might attract anti-immigration protesters
Victoria Hill, prosecuting, said: ‘The victim was there with his brother and he was on the same side of the road as the defendant.
‘She took objection to his presence and told him and his brother that they did not belong there and they should be on the other side of the protest.
‘As a result of the defendant’s behaviour and concerning remarks Mr Fontaine videoed her as he had been videoing much of the event.
‘There were no physical injuries to Mr Fontaine but there was damage to his phone. The back of the phone was smashed and cracked.
‘To some extent she was quite evasive with officers and changed her appearance in regards to what she was wearing.’
Giving evidence, Steven Fontaine, 29, said: ‘She said “you don’t belong here, you should be on the other side, you’re racist”.
‘She was proper frantic and going mad.
‘She shouted “they’re racist” and everyone turned around and just swarmed all around my brother.
‘I said “what makes you think that?”
The event was held just days after the civil unrest that occurred across the country in the wake of the Southport murders last summer. Pictured:Â Riot police hold back protesters near a burning police vehicle in Southport
At the time of the Bournemouth incident there had been attacks by far-right groups on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers that were fuelled by misinformation that Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker. Pictured: A car set alight during the riots in Sunderland
‘She was basically saying “you’re not Muslim, judging by what you’re wearing”.
‘There were people in balaclavas and she wasn’t talking to them so it was based on what I look like. She decided I wasn’t a typical Muslim.’
He said Leneghan was ‘loitering’ around them so his brother, Dylan, 28, started filming her.Â
Fontaine told the court: ‘Tensions were high and I was being shouted at that I was a racist. Someone grabbed me, people were pulling and grabbing me.
‘Luckily there were some people that knew me and they calmed down the situation. If I hadn’t known anyone there it could have been a lot worse.’
On video footage shown in court, Leneghan is heard confronting Dylan Fontaine, saying ‘You clearly don’t belong here’, and ‘You’re looking very suspicious’, and ‘I don’t think you’re one of us’.
Dylan Fontaine can be heard asking ‘Why are you assuming my beliefs?’ before she replies ‘because I can tell from looking at you’, adding ‘the clothes for a start’.
Mr Fontaine was dressed casually at the time in grey shorts, a black top and a cap.
In a second clip Leneghan can be heard saying ‘He’s a fascist, you both are… Why don’t you go back over there?’ while pointing to the other side of the road where there was a small group of what were believed to be far-right protesters.
Leneghan then grabbed his iPhone and threw it on the floor, smashing the device.
She then tried to prevent Mr Fontaine from picking it up and ‘lunged’ at him several times before shouting: ‘He’s a racist, get him.’
Leneghan refused to give police her details at the scene and tried to change her clothing to evade officers before eventually providing her information.
Mr Fontaine said afterwards he wasn’t physically injured but ‘felt sick’. He spoke to a police officer and initially decided not to make an official complaint before later changing his mind.
Leneghan told the court the brothers ‘stood out’ and seemed suspicious because they were keeping to themselves.
‘They didn’t look like they were trying to be part of our group,’ she recalled.
Ewa Russell, defending, said: ‘Without a shadow of a doubt the matter is aggravated by the circumstances and given her personal circumstances, it should not attract a custodial sentence.
‘She said in hindsight she should have walked away and showed an element of regret.’
In sentencing her, Judge Austin told Leneghan: ‘In my view this is a disgraceful incident caused against the backdrop of national distress.
‘You were calling them fascists and racists just by looking at them and your actions left Mr Fontaine at risk of being attacked.
‘I don’t accept that you are in any way remorseful and accept the seriousness of what you caused.
‘I am of the view that this is a maximum sentence case which would be 26 weeks in prison.
‘I now have to look at the fact that you are 20 weeks pregnant. I believe the risk of reoffending is low and there are risks for the pregnancy, especially around pre-eclampsia, and so I am going to suspend the sentence for the next two years.
‘There is also a prohibited activity requirement meaning you cannot join any assembled gathering or demonstration for the next two years.’
Leneghan, from Bournemouth, was ordered to pay Mr Fontaine £300 compensation as well as £200 court costs and a victim surcharge of £154.
The CPS have been approached for comment as to why Leneghan was not charged with racially aggravated assault or incite violence or hatred.
In February 2024 Leneghan was part of the controversial pro-Palestine protest that took place outside the family home of former Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood in Bournemouth.
