A “reckless” father, who brandished a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle as he threatened to “blow away” the English Defence League (EDL) in an “inflammatory” video, has been jailed for 27 months.
The footage of Habeeb Khan in his living room in Birmingham was posted on 6 August, during the height of the civil unrest this summer.
It was widely shared by the far-right on social media, attracting 1.4 million views on an extreme right-wing account on X, the city’s crown court heard on Monday.
Between 30 July and 7 August, about 29 anti-immigration demonstrations and riots took place across 27 towns and cities in the UK. Many of these were violent, with people attacking mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.
Passing sentence on Monday, Judge Melbourne Inman KC called Khan “very reckless” as he “caused a message to be sent on X” at a time of “extremely heightened social tension”.
The defendant said the video had been posted by a friend who he did not want to name.
Khan, a married father, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to making threats of death or serious harm contrary to the Online Safety Act.
He also admitted threatening behaviour relating to homophobic and abusive comments made after he was taken to hospital by police on the day of his arrest.
In a clip played in court, Khan put a magazine in the weapon and said: “EDL we’re coming to f****** blow you away you m*************.”
Other parts of the video, in which threats were made to the ex-leader of the now-defunct group, Tommy Robinson, were not played at the sentencing hearing.
According to prosecutor Laurie Scott, the “inflammatory” video was shared by numerous accounts on X, including by one with a message saying of Khan: “The most serious threat to protesters everywhere. This Muslim has an automatic assault rifle and says he’s coming for the EDL. All mosques need raiding now.”
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‘T-shirt in video found on washing line’
A T-shirt that Khan was wearing in an 11-second clip from the video was found on the washing line of his home in Sparkbrook during his arrest on 7 August, two days after serious disorder in the Bordesley Green area, the court heard.
Khan told officers “all I have done is make a little video” before “playing up” for a crowd which had gathered.
The prosecution said the decommissioned rifle, which was recovered by police on 7 August, was incapable of firing live rounds and was “in effect ornamental”.
The judge said it was one of a number of court cases which arose from the civil unrest that followed the mass stabbings in Southport on 29 July.
Khan was told he must serve 40% of his custodial term before being entitled to be released on licence.
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Khan ‘genuinely remorseful’
Defence counsel Sunit Sandhu said Khan had health problems, including bipolar disorder and cellulitis, and “realises the consequences of his actions and is genuinely remorseful”.
The court heard Khan has 11 previous convictions for 15 offences, including racially aggravated public order offences in 2009 and 2013.
He was also jailed for 12 months in 2019 after being convicted of possessing an imitation handgun with intent to cause fear of violence to a delivery driver outside a pizza shop.
