Police have arrested a third person after violent clashes outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex. The 33-year-old man from Loughton was detained on suspicion of violent disorder and criminal damage on Saturday, Essex police said.
Eight police officers were injured during the unrest outside the Bell hotel in Epping on Thursday evening, which began as a peaceful protest. Riot police faced crowds of men, some masked, who threw plastic bottles, eggs and flour at counter-demonstrators and officers, and attacked police vans.
Two people were arrested on Friday in connection with the protests. Dean Walters, 65, from Harlow, has been charged with affray after a separate protest on 13 July, while a second man arrested for breaching a dispersal order has been released on conditional bail.
The demonstrations follow the charging of an asylum seeker with three counts of sexual assault. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, denied the offences at Chelmsford magistrates court on Thursday and was remanded in custody pending trial next month.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “The events in Epping on Thursday were shocking and have no place in our neighbourhoods. We understand the concerns of the local community and support everyone’s right to peaceful protest.” He urged people not to attend future protests discussed on social media.
