A woman armed herself with a meat cleaver and attempted to force her way into a hotel housing asylum seekers after one of its residents walked into her blind mother's flat, a court has heard.
Channay Augustus, 22, was allegedly part of a group of about 20 people who tried to barge into the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf, east London, on Wednesday evening. The court was told she discovered a migrant inside her mother's flat, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and chased him away before rushing to the hotel at around 6am.
Augustus allegedly confronted a security guard who tried to calm her down, then left before returning with a meat cleaver. She is said to have banged the weapon on a metal barrier outside the hotel and shouted 'f****** asylum seekers'. She was later arrested at her home.
At Thames Magistrates' Court on Friday, her lawyer indicated she would deny possession of an offensive weapon, affray, assault on an emergency worker and common assault. She admitted to possession of cannabis.
Meanwhile, the migrant who entered her flat, a man in his early 20s, was arrested on suspicion of common assault and remains in police custody, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
The hotel has been the focus of protests in recent weeks, with both anti-migrant and pro-migrant demonstrators gathering at the site. Police have made arrests, including an anti-migrant protester alleged to have thrown a bottle at officers and a counter-protester who failed to remove a face covering. Augustus, of Tower Hamlets, was remanded into custody to appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on September 12.
