Five jailed in connection with Kill the Bill riot in Bristol

By Megan Evans, News Editor

Four men have been jailed for rioting and one woman has been jailed for outraging public decency, during a Kill the Bill protest on March 21 2021.

Four men who admitted their role in the Bristol city centre riot on 21 March have been sentenced today at Bristol Crown Court.

Together, their sentences total 13 years and 11 months in prison.

Kane Adamson, 21, Brandon Lloyd, 21, and Stuart Quinn, 46, all from Bristol, and Kain Simmonds, 18, from Birmingham, had all admitted to one count of riot at previous hearings.

Yasmin Schneider, 25, had pleaded guilty to two counts of outraging public decency, and has today been sentenced to five months in jail.

What was originally a peaceful protest against the contentious Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill turned into a large-scale riot outside Bridewell Police Station in March, with protestors throwing fireworks and missiles, setting a police van on fire, and vandalising the police station.

75 arrests have been made to date in connection with the day, according to Avon and Somerset Police.

As it happened: Bristol’s ‘Kill The Bill’ demonstration in photos

The judge of today’s hearing said that the defendant’s actions ‘hijacked’ a peaceful protest and ‘dehumanised’ police officers.

The court was told that the cost of the damage resulting from the events on 21 March was estimated to be just under £250,000.

A fundraiser in support of the prisoners being shared online has already raised £4,000.

It is believed that today's riot convictions are the first in the south west as well as the first nationally since the 2011 London riots.

Featured image: Epigram / Luke Priest

Were you at the protest on 21 March 2021?