Hells Angel leader from Sunderland jailed after counter-demonstration at Black Lives Matter protest dies in prison

Colin Green, of Church Street in Sunderland, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on May 9 after he admitted to violet disorder during the incident which took place in Newcastle in June 2020.

The 58-year-old threw no missiles or punches but was shown on the footage to be running at police, refusing to leave and ended up being bitten by a police dog then taken to hospital.

Just weeks into his prison sentence at HMP Northumberland, Green died on Tuesday, May 24, while behind bars – with details of his death unknown while an investigation is carried out.

A spokesperson for HMP Northumberland said: “We can confirm that a prisoner sadly died at HMP Northumberland on Tuesday 24 May 2022. The next of kin have been informed and our thoughts are with the family.

“As with all deaths in custody, there will be an investigation by the independent Prisons and Probation Ombudsman and therefore we are unable to comment further at this stage.”

Widespread trouble flared when members of North East Frontline Patriots, Protect the Monument from Black Lives Matter and other groups, including Hells Angels and veterans, attended the organised demonstration at the city's Grey's Monument.

The counter protestors said they were there to "protect" the monument from the Black Lives Matter demonstrators and around 1,000 people in total gathered round the statue that day, including police officers.

Both groups stated they planned a "peaceful" protest but from about 2pm that day, parts of the crowd became hostile and violent and police officers, dogs and horses were injured as well as members of the public.

Green was the leader of the Tyne and Wear Chapter of the Hells Angels and who lived in accommodation provided by the group, as well as working at their bar.

During his sentencing, he was heard to be an “influential figure” of the Hells Angels in the North East and played a “significant part” in what happened during the demonstrations.

Judge Edward Bindloss said: "He is an influential figure of the Hells Angels in this area.

"My assessment of him on the footage is of him walking around in a cool, calm and arrogant manner, walking up to police, going behind police, striding around in a way that made me assess him as someone who thought he was untouchable."

Judge Bindloss said Green played a "significant part" in what happened that day and added: "It could have been open to him to say to those in his chapter 'we are off', 'we are leaving the scene', 'let's go'.

"He chose not to do so."

Nick Lane, defending, handed in references to Green's ordinarily positive character.

Mr Lane said Green is "deeply ashamed and embarrassed by his conduct on the day" and has been involved in charity work including providing Covid hampers during lockdowns and planning events such as the Armed Services Day event in South Shields.