Man on X video with decommissioned rifle jailed

Habeeb Khan told officers "all I have done is make a little video", a court heard

A man who appeared in a social media video holding a decommissioned rifle and making threats to "blow away" the English Defence League has been jailed for more than two years.

Habeeb Khan, 49, said a friend he did not want to name had posted the video, after it was filmed in his living room in Birmingham.

A judge was told the video was widely shared on far-right social media accounts, gaining 1.4 million views on one extreme right-wing X account.

Khan, a married father from Hickman Road in Sparkbrook, pleaded guilty to making threats of death or serious harm contrary to the Online Safety Act and was jailed for 27 months.

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.

The city's crown court heard a T-shirt Khan was wearing in an 11-second clip from the video was found on the washing line of his home when he was arrested on 7 August, two days after serious disorder in the Bordesley Green area.

Judge Melbourne Inman KC told Khan this was "one of a number of cases that this court has had to deal with which arise out of civil unrest which itself followed from the very tragic events in Southport" on 29 July.

That was the background to his actions on 6 August when he caused a message to be sent on X, said the judge, who stated: "This was, as you know, a time of extremely heightened social tension. On any view you were very reckless."

'Playing up'

The video was shared through numerous accounts on X, according to prosecutor Laurie Scott, who said the decommissioned rifle recovered by police was incapable of firing live rounds.

During his arrest, the court heard, Khan said "all I have done is make a little video" before "playing up" for a crowd.

Sunit Sandhu, defending, said the Sparkbrook resident had health problems, including bipolar disorder and cellulitis, and was "genuinely remorseful".

Khan was told he must serve 40% of his custodial term before being entitled to release on licence.

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.