A violent protest erupted in Epping, Essex, following the arrest of illegal alien Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a 38-year-old Ethiopian accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl, leading to clashes between peaceful anti-open borders protesters, violent far-left Antifa rioters and police, with a police van reportedly running over a protester.
Kebatu was charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence.
The protests occurred outside The Bell Hotel, which has been used to house illegal aliens, and was exacerbated by a counter-protest organized by far-left Antifa groups.
The initial protest by local residents initially began peacefully, before the arrival of counter-protest organized by far-left Antifa group 'Waltham Forest Stand Up To Racism' with signs such as “Refugees Welcome: Stop The Far-Right,” who were allegedly escorted to the scene by police.
The far-left rioters started clashing with the local protesters, attacking police vans, throwing projectiles and attempting to break windows. The situation escalated when a police van reportedly ran over a protester, causing him to be launched backward as onlookers reacted in shock.
A video circulating on social media on Thursday evening appeared to show a police vehicle as it drove towards a number of protesters who were standing in the road, before appearing to collide with at least one person.
Over 180 police officers from Essex Police, the Metropolitan Police, and Hertfordshire Constabulary were deployed to manage the situation. One officer sustained a minor neck injury, and several suspects were identified for damaging police vehicles, the hotel, and assaulting officers.
A man named Dean Walters was charged with affray and released on bail to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on September 24.
Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: “I am sure those living in Epping have concerns following tonight. I share those concerns. We know the people who carried out these crimes do not represent Epping or Essex.
“Nothing about the offending we saw tonight is representative of these communities, or the peaceful event that ended before this started. This was crime. Our detectives are already working through the footage of this evening – from our officers bodyworn camera, from our drones and from social media – and where offences are identified we will take action.
"People attended the earlier protest and did so peacefully, lawfully and responsibly. I’d like to thank them for expressing their views this way given the strength of feeling locally. The details of the ongoing sexual assault case can be found on our website, and I reiterate the importance for respect for the court process to prevent the release of any prejudicial information in relation to that case.”
A spokeperson from Essex Police said: "Our officers have been in Epping this evening, where a number of people disrupted peaceful protests with projectiles. We have identified several suspects we believe are responsible for damaging police vehicles, the hotel, and assaulting our officers.
"One of our officers was left with a minor injury to their neck. These investigations are underway, with images circulated across our teams and to neighbouring police forces.
"Despite these incidents, we’d like to thank the many protestors who attended peacefully throughout the evening. Later, others intent on offending caused substantial disruption in Epping town centre. Faced with significant hostility our officers, supported by the Metropolitan Police Service and British Transport Police, responded to that offending. If you’re in Epping over the coming days you’ll see us out on patrol and we want to hear from you."
At a press conference on Friday, Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper spoke of two people who have been arrested – one on suspicion of affray following reports of an assault during a protest on Sunday, and the other for failing to comply with dispersal orders.
Mr Hooper said the man accused of affray, 65-year-old Dean Walters, has since been charged and the second suspect remains in custody.
During an earlier protest on Sunday, fireworks were let off and eggs were thrown outside the hotel.
On Friday afternoon, a security guard remained on site at the Bell Hotel, opening the gate in the fencing and the door of the hotel to let people in and out.
Fencing has since been put up to surround the hotel, accompanied with no entry signs. There are also warnings forbidding photography and filming in the vicinity of the hotel.
Broken glass and remnants of flares remain on the ground from the incident.
Hooper believes that, although there are polarised views in Epping surrounding the hotel holding asylum seekers, a lot of those responsible for the violence came from further afield.
He said: “We actually saw last night we believe outsiders from our communities. People have come from outside their local areas into Epping to commit acts of violence and damage.
“That was really disappointing to see, because we know our communities wanted a voice and wanted to tell us what was going on, and they were peaceful in their activity.
“I’ve seen some of the social media comments and spoken to a number of members of the community, and there are polarised views.
“But it’s our role as police to be independent and to, without fear or favour, make sure that people have the right to peaceful protest.
“What I won’t stand for is those mindless acts of vandalism and violence that we saw and making sure that we are very robust in supporting our communities.
“Our communities don’t want to see this violence, and they want to have their voice heard peacefully.”
One resident living next to the Bell Hotel, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s all horrible. Epping is a very nice place.
“It is very unfortunate that this has attracted people from outside the area.
“They [those staying in the hotel] haven’t given us any safety concerns. The safety concerns are from those protesting.
“The police will be here tonight, they were here last night.
“But I know there’s a lot of mixed views in the town about the hotel.”
Some residents blamed the police for allowing the violent far-left Antifa groups to approach the scene of the initial peaceful protests.
