Raise the Colours founder denies 13 racial harassment charges
Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 3 Nov, 18:19 · Archive
Ryan Bridge, who founded the Raise the Colours activist group, has pleaded not guilty to 13 offences including racial harassment.
Ryan Bridge, 45, from Bromsgrove, has pleaded not guilty to 13 offences including racial harassment at Oxford Magistrates' Court. Bridge is the co-founder of Raise the Colours, an activist group that places St George's Cross and Union flags on lampposts across Birmingham and other areas of the country.
The charges relate to alleged incidents at a service station in Oxfordshire on 31 January and on Abingdon Road in Oxford on 24 March. At the Oxford location, the court heard Bridge was confronted by local residents while placing flags with his group.
Bridge is accused of telling a woman who was filming him and speaking with an Italian accent: 'You're not in Italy anymore, you're in England. Speak English.' He is also accused of telling a woman who was on the phone speaking in Greek to 'go home'.
At the service station in Oxfordshire, Bridge is accused of racially harassing a man who was wearing a keffiyeh in support of Palestine.
Bridge denies two further counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment, one public order offence under section 4a, and one count of common assault. The common assault and public order charges relate to the alleged incidents on 24 March. Bridge appeared in court wearing a grey suit with poppy and England flag lapels on his tie and another poppy attached to his coat.
How it is being reported
- Raise the Colours co-founder denies 13 charges including racial harassmentA court heard Ryan Bridge had allegedly told a woman speaking Greek to "go home"BirminghamLive · 3 Nov, 18:03
- Birmingham founder of Raise the Colours flag group denies racial harassmentRyan Bridge pleaded not guilty to 13 offences.Birmingham World · 3 Nov, 17:51
- Birmingham founder of Raise the Colours flag group denies racial harassmentRyan Bridge pleaded not guilty to 13 offences.Express & Star · 3 Nov, 17:51
In this story: Ryan Bridge · Raise the Colours · Birmingham · Oxford · Bromsgrove · Oxfordshire
This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log
Comments (0)