United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell details violent criminal past in video

THE leader of anti-Islam group United Patriots Front responsible for the violent Coburg riot has detailed his criminal past in an educational video distributed to Victorian schools.

United Patriots Front leader Blair Cottrell detailed his criminal past in a video aimed at reducing youth crime. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

THE leader of anti-Islam group United Patriots responsible for the violent Coburg riot has detailed his criminal past in an educational video distributed to Victorian schools.

Blair Cottrell, who has convictions for violent assaults and trafficking testosterone, details his jealous rage in the film that is meant to discourage youth crime.

Cottrell, who is called “Bruce” in the film, details how he chased his ex-girlfriend’s new partner with a tomahawk and torched his garage.

“I started damaging his house, throwing things at it, through the windows and, I made a couple of molotov cocktails, and lit his garage up with those,” he said.

“I had this little tomahawk that I put it inside my jacket and in the middle of the night, at one and two o’clock in the morning, I would go out the front of his house and hover around.

“As soon as the door would open, my heart would skip and I would stand up and be holding a knife because I’d be ready to go round there and be ready to kill him because I was pretty determined.”

The film, titled Stories From The Inside, was produced by inmates from Port Phillip Prison in 2013, with funding from British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, to build their self esteem and discourage youth crime.

Port Phillip Prison youth development officer Anne Hooker defended Cottrell’s involvement in the project despite the UPF leader’s radical views.

“We deliberately didn’t use real names in the documentary to allow him and the others to express themselves honestly,” she said.

Cottrell, 26, was sentenced to four months in prison in May 2012 after being convicted of 13 charges, including seven counts of intentionally damaging property.

County Court Judge Michael Tinney convicted the then-22-year-old of throwing a missile, stalking, failing to comply with a community-based order, and two counts of recklessly causing serious injury.

In December 2013 he was fined $1000 and sentenced to seven days in jail by a County Court judge for aggravated burglary, property damage, arson, trafficking testosterone, possessing a controlled weapon and breaching court orders.

Cottrell has also been fined almost $3000 for driving offences, including speeding 25km/h over the limit and failing to obey a traffic sign.

The matter was dealt with by a magistrate in October 2012.

The Sunday Herald Sun spoke to Cottrell about the video, but he said: “I’ve got nothing to say about any of that stuff, mate.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come to my house.”

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