Fact check: Man sentenced after admitting violent disorder

A social media post widely shared online claimed that a man had been “jailed for 3 YEARS for waving his prosthetic leg at people”.

Evaluation

The man pictured in the post on X, formerly Twitter , was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder.

A court was told he was seen throwing a lit firework and a can during unrest in Plymouth sparked by the killing of three girls in Southport . He was also filmed waving his prosthetic leg.

The facts

The man in the photograph is John Cann, 51, of Patna Place, Plymouth. He has a distinctive facial piercing seen in both the image shared online and a mugshot issued by Devon and Cornwall Police after his arrest.

According to a news report from his sentencing at Plymouth Crown Court on August 13, Cann had been seen on police footage throwing an item at counter-protesters during disorder in the city centre on August 5.

He was also shown picking up a firework and throwing it just before it went off.

Another news report included footage of Cann waving his prosthetic leg during the protests.

The court, which heard Cann had used a prosthetic since 2010, was told he had 26 prior convictions for 170 offences.

Links

Post on X ( archived )

Devon and Cornwall Police mugshot ( archived )

Plymouth Herald article

ITV News article

People charged and sentenced for recent disorder: Key statistics

Business secretary targets ticket touts in message laden with Taylor Swift puns

Thug who forced Romanians from car during riot handed heftiest sentence to date

Man sentenced to 30 months after leading ‘angry and intimidating’ mob