Violent disorder trial: three men deny roles in Epping hotel mob chaos
Three men face trial over violent disorder outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, where 400–500 protesters gathered in July 2025.
Three men deny violent disorder at Epping asylum seeker hotel protest
Three men accused of being part of "an aggressive mob" that caused serious public disorder outside a hotel housing asylum seekers appeared before Chelmsford Crown Court this week, bbc.com reports.
Keith Silk, 33, from Torrington Drive in Loughton; Jonathan Glover, 47, from Springfields in Waltham Abbey; and Charlie Land, 24, from Warren Close in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, each deny a single charge of violent disorder.
The unrest took place on 17 July 2025 outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, after one of the migrants living there was charged with sexual assault. Between 400 and 500 protesters gathered at the scene, prosecutor Sam Willis told the jury on the opening day of the trial.
Willis said police implemented a plan involving "reasonable and proportional force" and also escorted approximately 50 counter-demonstrators from Epping railway station to the hotel in order to "facilitate the rights of both protests". By the time that group reached the area near The Tower School, Willis explained, the streets were too congested to proceed further.
As a last resort, officers removed the counter-protesters by police van, after which the original protest group returned to the Bell Hotel. "What had been a peaceful protest had descended into serious public disorder on the streets of Epping," Willis told the court.
The jury was shown footage from police body-worn cameras, drones, and recordings made by members of the public. The clips formed the basis of the prosecution's case against each defendant.
Silk was shown in footage alongside others attempting to pull the Bell Hotel sign out of the ground. The prosecution also alleges he threw a bottle at a police vehicle.
A hooded figure identified by prosecutors as Land was seen repeatedly kicking and striking police vehicles, including smashing a windscreen, ripping off wing mirrors, and letting air out of tyres. Land denies being the individual visible in that footage and additionally denies a separate charge of causing criminal damage to a police vehicle.
Glover appeared in several clips confronting officers, filming them on his phone and stating he was present for a "peaceful protest". Officers were shown attempting to move him out of the path of their vehicles; in one exchange, he was pushed back by an officer using a riot shield — an incident Willis said resulted in Glover losing two teeth. Glover, who was arrested when he attended a further protest at the hotel three days later, maintains that he was present solely to film events and that police were the aggressors. Silk also denies causing criminal damage to the Bell Hotel sign.
The trial is expected to last up to three weeks.
Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)