Police have warned they are seeing “inflammatory” comments online, as a third man was arrested over violent clashes outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex.
The latest arrest came after eight officers were assaulted on Thursday and police vehicles were smashed after groups of men broke away from an earlier peaceful protest outside the hotel in Epping.
A 33-year-old man from Loughton was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of violent disorder and criminal damage, according to Essex police. The force said several suspects who caused trouble had been identified and investigators were seeking to arrest them.
Far-right activists associated with groups including Britain First were among those in the crowd that gathered outside the Bell hotel on Thursday, where local people including women and children peacefully protested.
Clashes with police broke out as groups of men, some masked, attempted to reach a small anti-racism demonstration that started at Epping station and then walked through the town before it was hemmed in.
In an apparent response to allegations that the police had taken a “two-tier” approach that favoured the counter-demonstration, Ch Supt Simon Anslow said: “Unfortunately, across social media we are seeing inflammatory comments which suggest we were supporting and enabling certain protesters.
“This is categorically not true. We police without fear or favour, remaining impartial at all times and have legal responsibilities to ensure peaceful protest is facilitated.”
Tensions were high in Epping after the appearance in court on Thursday of an asylum seeker charged with three counts of sexual assault.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who denies the offences, was remanded in custody before a two-day trial next month at Chelmsford magistrates court.
Police remain on alert in the area and calls for a new protest outside the hotel on Sunday evening have been circulating online.
Dean Walters, 65, from Harlow, has been charged with affray and will appear at court in September following a separate protest last Sunday near the hotel.
A second man arrested over a breach of a dispersal order has been released on conditional bail.
Neil Hudson, the local Conservative MP, has been calling on the Home Office to close the hotel and described the violence in the town on Thursday as “completely unacceptable”.
“Police put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe. People have the right to peacefully protest but these violent scenes are not us, not Epping, not what we stand for,” he said in a post on X.
