Epping protester fined for not removing balaclava during demonstration outside asylum seeker housing hotel

A teenager has been fined for failing to remove a face covering during a protest outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, which has housed asylum seekers. Joshua Meadows, 18, of the Essex town, pleaded guilty to failing to remove an item when asked by a constable and to cannabis possession at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court. He was fined £276.

Prosecutor Celestia John-Baptiste said Meadows refused to remove his full-face balaclava while others around him complied. She noted that Meadows had claimed that, as a white British person, he should be allowed to wear a face covering when people could wear burkas. Meadows was seen in a crowd with three other males, all dressed in black with face coverings, and he was the only one who did not remove his. He was wearing a full-face balaclava with his hood up when approached by police. The prosecutor added that Meadows was arrested and said he had his face covered as he did not want it in the media. Meadows, who represented himself, said he never had a full-face balaclava but had his hood up because it was raining and that he could not really hear the officers when they spoke.

During a subsequent search, the defendant told officers he had some cannabis in his pocket; the substance was confiscated and destroyed.

Outside The Bell Hotel, demonstrations have continued since the start of summer after asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu sexually assaulted a woman and a 14-year-old girl in the town. The 38-year-old Ethiopian national was jailed for 12 months on Tuesday.

Magistrate Shaun Rayner also ordered Meadows to pay £85 in costs and a £110 victim surcharge.