New Zealand Man in Trump Shirt Sentenced for Abuse outside Christchurch Mosque
Christchurch District Court Judge Tony Couch said the Muslim community "embraces forgiveness and compassion", as he announced the 10-month supervision sentence for 34-year-old laborer Daniel Nicholas Tuapawa.
Tuapawa says he has no recollection of the incident in Deans Ave on April 10 when he yelled abuse, calling Muslims "terrorists" and saying "they need to leave". He was wearing a T-shirt with a message supporting Donald Trump.
He was initially allowed to leave by police outside the mosque but was later located after images of his rant were published in the media.
Tuapawa was charged with "behaving in an insulting manner that was likely to cause violence to start". He pleaded guilty at his first appearance on April 12 and was remanded on bail for sentencing.
Judge Couch said Tuapawa had been in an aggressive and agitated state when he yelled abuse towards members of the public and the Muslim community.
"Your conduct would have been offensive and distressing at any time but in the context of it being less than a month after the tragic events at the mosque, that made the situation much worse.
"Given the strength of public feeling about the murders which occurred there, your conduct could easily have provoked a violent reaction."
He noted reports showing Tuapawa had "long standing psychological issues and intellectual challenges".
He noted Tuapawa had taken the initiative to get help and support for the issues that affected him. He said a supervision sentence would ensure that he followed through with the counselling and other assistance he had already started on.
That sentence seemed to have the best prospects of ensuring that there was no more behavior of this type, the judge said.
As part of the 10-month supervision sentence, Tuapawa will be required to attend assessment, counselling, and treatment as directed by his probation officer.
Speaking to Stuff after the sentencing, Tuapawa maintained he had "no recollection of what happened".
He said a doctor told him he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following some "dramas" in his life.
He still could not remember where he got the T-shirt from as he was having blackouts at the time, he said.
Source: stuff.co.nz
