Woman handed community sentence for tying Union Jack with words “Muslims Out” to school railings

Categories: Latest News
Monday June 27 2016
The Sunderland Echo reports on the sentencing of a woman who draped a Union Jack flag bearing a Nazi swastika and the words “White power” and “Muslims Out” onto railings by the entrance of Thornhill primary school in October 2015.
Heidi Sawicki, 25, draped the flag over the school railings and took a photo of herself standing in front of it giving a Nazi salute. She then posted the photo on to her Facebook page.
Sunderland Magistrates Court heard that head of house, Mark Leadbetter, arrived at the school around 7am on the morning of Thursday 8 October to find the flag affixed to the railings. When he inspected the flag, he noticed the swastika and the words “White power” and “Muslims Out” written in what he thought was nail polish.
Mr Leadbetter described Thornhill primary as a mixed-race school which has “a 30% Muslim-Bangladeshi cohort.”
The local paper notes Sawicki was identified from CCTV footage and arrested, along with a male who is being dealt with separately.
Interviewed by police officers after her arrest, Sawicki was asked if she was racist to which she replied, “It depends who you ask”.
When asked if she knew the meaning of the swastika, Sawicki replied, “Sieg Heil. White power.”
She added, “I know the school is riddled with them, the rodents. They have a rat problem. They are barbaric animals. They don’t deserve the name person.”
Her defence claimed Sawicki suffered from mental health problems and had been sectioned in the past. The court was told “She has a deep-seated hate and a deep seated offence to that particular racial sector.”
Sawicki pleaded guilty to causing racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress and sending a malicious communication.
She was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement. She was also fined £20 and was told to pay £85 costs and £60 surcharge.