Man jailed after carving swastika into walls of Westfield shopping centre with a knife and racially abusing and threatening police officers
A man has been jailed after carving swastika into walls of Westfield shopping centre in Stratford with a knife and racially abusing and threatening police officers.
Andy Koseda, 54, of no fixed address, was arrested on 15th February after police were called to the Westfield shopping centre in Newham, where Mr Koseda had been carving swastikas into a wall using a knife. When police officers tried to arrest him, he reportedly racially abused them and threatened them with the knife.
He was charged with threatening a person with a knife in a public place, racially aggravated harassment, criminal damage, possession of a knife and using threatening words to cause harassment.
He pleaded guilty to all counts at an earlier hearing before being sentenced on 5th May at Snaresbrook Crown Court to two and a half years in prison.
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews more than four times likelier to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image credit: Metropolitan Police