Teen riot accused's mother says son is ‘not racist' and protests ‘are not racist either'
Families after returning to their homes in Ballymena (Photo by Alan Lewis)
The mother of a teenager accused of rioting in Ballymena has defended her son and insisted the riots are not racist.
Michael Elliott (18) was the first alleged rioter to be pictured in the press after being charged with riotous assembly following days of violent disorder.
One of three teenagers to appear at Ballymena Magistrates Court on rioting offences on Thursday, he was remanded in custody.
Michael Elliott Ballymena Courthouse (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA)
The town has seen a week of sustained violence and attacks on police in disturbances which followed an alleged attempted sex attack on a teenage girl last weekend.
'Scapegoat'
Elliott's mum Carla (36), who has appealed for people to protest peacefully, told Sunday Life she stood by her son and believed he had been made a scapegoat.
She said: 'He's only 18 a couple of months. He's only just over the threshold to be charged as an adult.
'I was a bit cross at the courts because that's my son's face now plastered all over international news.
'I burst into tears when I left the court. I was in shock that he was remanded when there's been people bailed for worse.
'I am angry at the justice system for going after children to make an example.
'If you're going to do that, do it to them all, especially when the police came with the force they did.'
Families after returning to their homes in Ballymena (Photo by Alan Lewis)
The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Northern Ireland is currently 10 years old.
Local youth courts deal with all criminal cases involving young people under the age of 18.
When Michael Elliott appeared in court, a police officer said he was arrested on Tuesday night following an incident where a house on Bridge Street had been set on fire.
The officer said police believed it was important that courts send out a 'strong message.'
He said if the court did not, there was a risk of further disorder that could lead to 'death or serious injury' for foreign nationals living in Ballymena.
A defence solicitor said his client's involvement was limited to 'throwing stones'.
A rioter throwing a petrol bomb at police (Photo by Stephen Davison/Pacemaker Press)
The district judge told Elliott he was a young man who now found himself in the dock in court.
Refusing bail he said the court would deal 'robustly' with those where there was evidence they were involved in the disorder.
Speaking about the outbreak of violence in Ballymena, Carla Elliott recalled: 'I was shocked when it turned into a riot, but I wasn't surprised because nobody is listening to people. Nobody cares about Ballymena.
'Michelle O'Neill said she wouldn't even come here, which is a kick in the teeth. She is no first minister for all, and I'm saying that as a Catholic.
'Politicians have a lot to answer for. They are the reason our country is the way it is.'
Michelle O'Neill decided against visiting the Co Antrim town after taking advice from police, saying she did not wish to 'cause even more kind of kickback'.
Firefighters battle a house ablaze in Ballymena (Photo by Kevin Scott)
The disorder, which started in Ballymena last Monday and spread to Larne, Portadown and Coleraine, has drawn widespread condemnation.
Videos of houses being burned and windows being smashed as people chanted 'f*** the foreigners' and 'get them out' caused shock and outrage.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher labelled rioters 'racists and bigots'.
First Minister Ms O'Neill described the incident as 'naked racism'. Prime Minister Keir Starmer also expressed concern.
However, mother-of-three Ms Elliott, who lives with her family on the Lanntara housing estate in Ballee, just outside Ballymena, insisted that the riots were not racist.
She said: 'I didn't agree with local people's houses being damaged, but the ones inciting the trouble weren't even from here. They were from Belfast.
'You can hear the different accents in the videos. It wasn't Ballymena people, but it's made us look racist.
'Ballymena has been unfairly portrayed. Our country was already on its knees. We already have enough bad people of our own.
'I would like the government to listen to their own people.
A water cannon vehicle in Portadown (Photo by PA)
'We fought for this country during the Troubles, and our grandparents would be ashamed of what's happening to our country.
'They need to look after our own people and deal with the crimes our own people are committing. We don't need the extra stress.
'If we didn't have them (migrants) coming, we wouldn't have all the stresses we do and the NHS crisis and so on.
'My son is not racist and I don't think the riots are racist.
'There's a difference between the ones that have paperwork to be here and the ones that are here illegally.
'It's the illegal ones who need to be shipped back to their country where they come from.
'They're up and down across the border, using different passports and IDs.
'We're not racist. I have cousins who are a different colour. I have worked with Poles and Romanians with no problem.
'It's the illegals that are the problem. They don't respect our laws and traditions, and we've had enough.'
Boarded-up windows in Ballymena (Photo by Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press)
Although the violence of recent nights was not at the same scale as it was at the start of the week, Ms Elliott believes the protests will continue.
She said: 'It's a two-tier system. Foreigners are treated differently by the police.
'Ballymena has done silent protests for years, and nothing has been done, so I don't know what they expected.
'I wouldn't discourage people from protesting because our country is on its knees, but they need to protest peacefully and not do riots.'
Carla Elliot and Michael Elliot (inset)
News in 90 Seconds - June 17th
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