A protester who set fire to police vehicles during a riot that followed a “kill the bill” demonstration in Bristol has been jailed for 14 years. Ryan Roberts led chants of “ACAB: all cops are bastards” outside Bridewell police station on 21 March before throwing cans, bottles and placards at officers, as well as verbally abusing and kicking them. The 25-year-old, who had taken cocaine and been drinking, then smashed windows of the police station, Bristol crown court was told. Roberts, of no fixed address, was also caught on film pushing pieces of flaming cardboard under two police vans and placing industrial bins around an already partially burnt-out police car and setting them alight. He told an officer inside one of the vans he would “go bang”. He smashed in the windows of a mobile police station and encouraged the crowd to help roll it over, before setting light to the cab while hundreds of people were close by. Giving evidence, Roberts said he got “carried away” fighting for freedom of speech during a protest against the government’s police, crime, sentencing and courts bill. Roberts told the court the bill aimed to ban peaceful protest altogether, saying the demo was about freedom of speech. He said the mood of the protest changed when police donned riot gear as night fell and officers started “pushing, shoving and hitting” the crowd with shields and batons. “I was fighting for a cause I felt strongly about,” Roberts said. Two officers, who had served in the armed forces, described the night as the “most frightening incident in their careers”. Another described the rioting as “ferocious, prolonged and determined violence”. The riot was one of a series that took place in Bristol earlier this year with police accused at times of reacting heavy-handedly. A jury convicted Roberts of rioting, attempted arson with intent to endanger life, attempted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, and two counts of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. Nicholas Lewin, defending, said Roberts had been diagnosed with ADHD and was not a “sophisticated criminal”. “Mr Roberts is not a rampant fire starter, twisted or other,” he said. “The issue of impulsive behaviour becomes more acute for someone who suffers from that condition.” Jailing Roberts, Judge James Patrick said: “You were actively involved in committing violence over a period of five hours. You were actively encouraging the crowd from an early stage and your actions encouraged the violence against police officers. “You carried out a leading role in the encouraging of others in the setting of other fires.”