Protester at Henry Nowak demo told police ‘come and get it’ while armed with a ‘makeshift knuckleduster’, court hears

A ‘Warrior’ protester is facing jail after taking to the streets and threatening police armed with makeshift brass knuckles following the murder of Henry Nowak.

Daniel Frost, 44, created a ‘handmade knuckle duster’ by wrapping a carabiner rope around his arm and claimed it was a dog collar, telling police to ‘come and get it’, the court heard.

Frost also threw two chairs and a bin at police during the protest, which he described as a ‘big party’.

The father of two, who attended Tuesday’s protest wearing a camouflage mask, told officers to arrest him and boasted that he would be ‘home in four hours’ if they did.

Riot police armed with plastic shields confront protesters in Southampton this week

A photograph released by the Crown Prosecution Service shows the eight-inch ceremonial dagger used by Digwa

But he was remanded into custody after pleading guilty to violent disorder and possession of an offensive weapon and will now be sentenced on Wednesday.

He had 25 previous convictions for 55 offenses when he appeared on Monday, Southampton Crown Court heard.

Previous offenses included four incidents of public disorder, possession of a knife, theft, robbery and GBH. He was previously sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Public outrage was fueled further this week by the release of body camera footage showing police handcuffing Mr Nowak, 18, after his killer falsely accused him of a racist attack.

In reality, he had been stabbed multiple times with a religious knife by Vickrum Digwa, a 23-year-old knife-obsessed Sikh man who was jailed for murder on Monday.

Prosecutor Siobhan Linsley said that alongside local protesters such as Frost and the so-called ‘Southampton Patriots’ group, ‘many people from outside the area who were urged to join on social media by far-right influencers such as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon also attended’.

He said: ‘Serious mayhem ensued as participants became extremely aggressive towards the police, swearing constantly and throwing makeshift projectiles such as bricks, chairs and bins at them.

Ms Linsley continued: ‘The defendant appears to have thrown two plastic chairs and a bin towards the row of PSU officers, but neither made contact.

‘With some flourish, the defendant wraps the rope around his arm and the clip around his hand, creating what observing officers feared was a homemade knuckleduster.

‘On hearing this the defendant said it was a dog collar but repeatedly invited officers to come and take it from him.

‘He then told them it would take the four of them to get it off of him and if they tried to do that ‘these will fuck you right away, come and get it’.

‘When the crowd finally dispersed after 11pm, the defendant was seen walking along Belmont Road by officers who still maintained a police cordon in the area.

‘He was still wearing the same mask and the rope was hanging around his neck.

‘He told the officers again that it was a dog collar but when asked where his dog was he told the officers to go away.

‘He was extremely belligerent and aggressive towards officers who asked him why he was there and tried to establish whether he had been there during the previous disturbance.

‘He refused to give his details unless he was arrested.’

He said he told officers he had done nothing wrong and was ‘happy’ to be arrested because ‘he would be home on bail in four hours after being given a cup of tea and some food’.

He told the hearing on Monday: ‘In his interview with police he described it as a ‘big party’ after initially denying being at the scene.’

He refused to throw away the litter box and chairs, saying he was just dragging it and could do whatever he wanted. She was agitated throughout the interview and described the interviewing officer as a ‘gasping bitch’.

Francisca Da Costa, in mitigation, said: ‘There was a four-year gap in his offending and there were ups and downs in the individual’s offending.’

Judge William Mousley KC said: ‘This was an incident which caused extensive damage to property and was brought forward to the police.

‘I may need to see the whole incident as a starting point.

‘I will postpone your sentence until Wednesday.’

Matt Styler, 50, of Orange Grove, Gosport, Hants, was also due to appear at Southampton Crown Court today charged with assaulting a police officer, but refused to attend because the hearing date was brought forward.

He will now have a plea hearing on June 26, with a tentative trial date set for November if he pleads not guilty.

On June 2, 11 police officers and a police dog were injured during a violent protest that broke out on the streets of Southampton over the death of Henry Nowak.

Frontline officers suffered blows when they came under missile attack from angry protesters in Southampton.

The force, which has come under widespread criticism for arresting dying student Henry, said it arrested two people in the demonstration that turned ugly.

However, 20 people have now been charged over the events at the protest.

Protests have left neighbors ‘horrified’ as protesters gather outside their homes, leaving them ‘out of pocket’ after their cars and homes were damaged.

Debris was strewn across the streets of Southampton’s Portswood district.

The ‘Justice for Henry Nowak’ protest began outside central police station in Southampton, Hants, and speakers included far-right activist Tommy Robinson addressing the crowd.

Hundreds of protesters then marched to the area where the murder took place, and police stopped them as they tried to enter the street where Digwa’s family lived.

The protesters’ anger continued into the night; As darkness fell, hundreds were still causing damage.

Volunteers took to the streets the next morning to clear the remaining debris.

More than 150 people held a second protest outside Portswood Police Station on 7 June, calling for ‘an end to two-tier policing’.

A large crowd gathered outside the police station in Southampton and knelt in the street as part of an anti-police demonstration.

Protesters observed a 3-minute silence in memory of Henry.