Stuart Williams, 36, Dean Smith, 51, and Martin Peagram, 33, became the first to be jailed for the disorder that erupted on July 17, 2025, following their sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court on October 6. Two men have been convicted of being part of a violent mob at the asylum hotel protest that saw police officers attacked. However, Lee Gower and Phillip Curson deny committing violent disorder during protests outside The Bell Hotel in Essex on July 17 last year, with Gower also denying assaulting a police officer, indicating ongoing legal proceedings. Six people had already pleaded guilty to violent disorder relating to the protest on July 17.
The Bell Hotel had been repurposed to house roughly 150 asylum seekers. The protest was sparked by the arrest of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, an Ethiopian asylum seeker who was later convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping. Hadush Kebatu, an Ethiopian national who arrived in the UK on a small boat days prior to the incidents, was later found guilty of five offences including sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court.
Crowds began to form outside The Bell Hotel from around 4pm on July 17, with 400 to 500 people at the demonstration. At around 5:30pm on July 17, about 50 counter-protesters arrived at Epping train station and were escorted towards the hotel by police. Simultaneously, protesters outside the hotel started to run up the road to confront the counter-protesters, and police attempted to keep the two groups apart by imposing a cordon. From that point until around 10pm, the protest descended into serious public disorder in the streets of Epping, with police officers subjected to sustained attacks including acts and threats of violence, such as being grabbed, pushed, punched, and kicked, and police vans being kicked and damaged.
Police vans were damaged, and officers were pelted with bottles, eggs, and fireworks during the violence. Counter-demonstrators and police were pelted with plastic bottles, eggs and flour, and the violence worsened as the crowd directly attacked police and vandalised police vans. Stuart Williams, a painter and decorator from Epping, wore a Union Jack flag as a cape, shoulder-charged police lines, climbed onto the roof of The Bell Hotel to ring its bell, and scaled the roof of a nearby school for children with special educational needs and disabilities, causing damage.
Police in riot gear remained on the streets as darkness fell to prevent groups of men from reaching the hotel, with more than 100 police officers attending but becoming 'overwhelmed' by the protest. Police had warned earlier that criminal violence would not be tolerated.
Far-right supporters have attacked police as violence erupted following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex, with the July 17 demonstration planned in advance on social media, where attendees were encouraged to 'mask up and bring rage.' Far-right activists have a significant local presence and were central to the protest on Sunday. District Judge Christopher Williams was told of a WhatsApp group with 600 members planning to attend the hotel, indicating organized coordination. Hundreds of people staged a fresh demonstration outside the hotel in Epping, with local people, including women and children, among those who gathered, joined by far-right activists with loudspeakers and banners, and a large sign on a flatbed van read 'protect our kids.'
Three more men have been charged after alleged violent disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers, with a 47-year-old and a 36-year-old man, both from the Epping Forest district, charged with violent disorder on Tuesday. A 34-year-old man from Wickford was accused of failing to remove a face covering, and they were due to appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August. Keith Silk, 33, of Torrington Drive in Loughton, Essex, appeared before Southend Magistrates' Court on Monday to deny violent disorder, but entered no plea to another charge of criminally damaging a sign at the hotel by shaking it. He was released on conditional bail, forbidding him from entering Epping and attending any protest in the UK, and will also appear before Chelmsford Crown Court on 18 August.
Lee Gower and Phillip Curson deny committing violent disorder during protests outside The Bell Hotel in Essex on July 17 last year, with Gower also denying assaulting a police officer, contradicting reports that two men have been convicted of being part of a violent mob at the asylum hotel protest.
The sentencing took place at Chelmsford Crown Court on October 6, with the 51-year-old entering no plea to a charge of using or threatening the use of unlawful violence, and was remanded in custody until the August hearing. Kebatu was sentenced to 12 months in prison after a trial at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court in September 2025. Mr Smith attended the protest on Thursday and returned on Sunday, when he was arrested after being identified on footage, and he was the second person to appear before magistrates in connection with protests at the hotel.
Earlier protests on July 12 and 13 were relatively peaceful, but days before, two security guards were seriously assaulted during a previous gathering. The assaults on the security staff on Sunday were being treated by investigators as racially aggravated. A man was arrested on suspicion of affray after damage was caused to The Bell Hotel by an individual shouting racial abuse. Tensions were high ahead of the latest court appearance of Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who has been charged with three counts of sexual assault and denies the offences.
An antiracism demonstration took place near the town’s railway station on Thursday, with hundreds of people later congregating outside the hotel, with activists wearing T-shirts of the Britain First party. Hundreds of people gathered on Thursday, with a smaller group holding a pro-refugee demonstration at the same time. The peaceful protests 'quickly escalated' into violent disorder, with fireworks, eggs and bottles being thrown.
The policing operation over the summer cost more than £1.5 million, and the town’s high street was blocked off for hours in a tense stand-off. Officers were granted extra power to force people to remove face coverings on Sunday, and Essex Police said suspects have been identified for vehicle damage, officer assault, and vandalising property.
The specific evidence or testimony that led to the conviction of Lee Gower and Phillip Curson, as reported by BBC News, remains unclear given that Sky News reports they deny the charges, highlighting a key unknown in the legal proceedings. It is also unknown how many total individuals have been charged, convicted, or sentenced in connection with the protests at The Bell Hotel, and what their names and specific roles are. The exact injuries sustained by police officers and security guards during the protests, and how many required hospitalization, have not been disclosed by authorities.
What specific measures, if any, have been implemented by authorities to prevent future violent protests at The Bell Hotel or similar asylum accommodations is not detailed in available reports. The current status of Hadush Kebatu's legal case, including any appeals or additional charges beyond the initial convictions, remains uncertain, adding to the unresolved aspects of this complex situation.