Edinburgh Bonfire Night chaos: Jail warning for man who supplied fireworks used to attack police and public
A man who supplied fireworks to youths who used them to attack police officers on Bonfire Night has been warned if he breaches a court order he will be “going directly to prison”.
Jordan McMillan provided the explosive projectiles that were then thrown at officers and members of the public during a night of chaos in Edinburgh in November last year.
The mass disorder saw gangs of hooligans set fire to roads, play parks, wheelie bins and cars in several areas across the Capital, including Niddrie, Gracemount and Sighthill.
Thugs wearing balaclavas were also filmed launching rockets at moving vehicles and the violence brought the city’s streets to a standstill as riot police closed off roads from the public.
McMillan, 24, was convicted of culpable and reckless conduct following a trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month and was back in the dock for sentencing today, Monday July 14.
McMillan denied any involvement claiming he was within his garden at the time of the incident .The charge was aggravated by attacking emergency service workers under Section 44 of the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022.
Sheriff Joseph Stewart told McMillan, of Niddrie, Edinburgh, he had carried out “a very serious offence” but stopped short of imposing a jail term.
Sheriff Stewart said: “First of all, I think the custody threshold is easily met here. This is a very serous offence and, with your record Mr McMillan, I could very easily send you to prison today for a considerable period. If you breach this order you will be going directly to prison, do you understand that?”
McMillan was sentenced to a 10 month restriction of liberty order where he will have to stay within his home address between 7pm and 6am.
Following last month’s trial, Chief Superintendent David Robertson, Police Scotland divisional commander for Edinburgh, said: “This conviction should send a very clear message that the reckless and dangerous behaviour we witnessed across Edinburgh last year will not be tolerated.“
Police officers and other emergency service workers do not come to work to be attacked, and the level of violence directed towards them during Halloween and Bonfire Night was wholly unacceptable.
“Jordan McMillan did not act in isolation and is only one of several individuals responsible for the offences we saw on Niddrie Mains Road during the evening of 5 November 2024.
“Further positive court outcomes for those involved in disorder during 2024 are anticipated and we are currently working with key partners ahead of Bonfire Night 2025 to protect our communities from this reckless and dangerous behaviour, which simply has to stop.”
McMillan was found guilty of culpably and recklessly supplying fireworks to individuals who were involved in public disorder and who were throwing fireworks at police officers and members of the public and into the roadway to the danger of severe injury at Niddrie Mains Road, Edinburgh, on November 5 last year.
He was also acquitted of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and forming part of a large group who were walking and brandishing fireworks in the same date.