Epping Protest Chaos: Men on Trial for Violent Disorder

0:00From across Europe, powered by AI, this is Europe News Today. I'm Cory with the story. A court in Essex heard how a protest outside an asylum hotel in Eping turned into chaos last summer. Two men, a 43-year-old from Eping, named Lee Gower, and a 53-year-old from Upminster named Philip Kerson, denied charges of violent. Disorder on July 17th. Gower also denies assaulting a police officer during the clashes. The demonstration started after an Ethiopian asylum seeker, who arrived by small boat, was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, nearby. He was later convicted on five counts, jailed, briefly released by mistake from prison, and then deported back to Ethiopia in October. Hundreds gathered peacefully around 4 p.m., but things escalated when protesters clashed with counter-protesters. Police try to keep groups apart with a cordon, facing punches, kicks, thrown objects, and damage to their vehicles over several hours.

1:01Prosecutors say video footage shows both men pushing and grappling with officers, with Gower throwing items and blocking roads. Meanwhile, six others have already pleaded guilty to the same charge. Defences argue Gower reacted to what he saw as bias policing, while Kerson was just in the wrong place and acted in self-defense. The trial was ongoing, with Gower's reviewing the evidence as both sides present their cases on what really happened that night in Epping.