Despite persistent rainfall in Essex, several hundred demonstrators assembled outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers, according to GB News National Reporter Charlie Peters.
The People's Channel fan-favourite said that after spending four hours at the location, nobody from the far-right was present.
The wet conditions failed to deter the substantial turnout, with Peters noting that approximately a few hundred individuals participated in the demonstration. The protest centred on a hotel that has become a focal point for local opposition, with residents expressing strong objections to its use for housing asylum seekers in their area.
Charlie challenged media reports suggesting far-right involvement in the demonstration, stating: "Some reporting say the far-right are involved in this protest or even organised it but I have been here four hours and I have not met any fascists, racists or Neo Nazis."
GB NEWS
|Charlie Peters says nobody from the far-right was present
The GB News star emphasised that participants were predominantly local residents rather than extremist groups. He characterised the demonstrators as community members expressing genuine concerns about the situation.
His observations contradicted suggestions that the protest had been orchestrated by far-right activists, despite online promotion of the demonstrations by such groups, as mentioned in other reports about the ongoing situation in Epping.
The demonstrators voiced apprehensions about approximately 140 men whom they described as unvetted being placed in their locality. Charlie reported: "They say this is risking their families."
Following the initial gathering, protesters proceeded from the hotel towards Epping's town centre.
The demonstration occurred against a backdrop of heightened tensions, with a recent court appearance of an Ethiopian asylum seeker charged with three counts of sexual assault against a local girl serving as a catalyst for the protests.
Participants expressed strong criticism of Essex Police's approach to managing the demonstrations. Peters noted: "Locals said they did not appreciate the style of policing."
The police implemented different crowd control measures compared to previous demonstrations, confining protesters to designated areas rather than allowing them direct access to the hotel frontage. Peters observed that no counter-demonstrators attended, "perhaps put off by the weather."
The chief constable's response drew particular criticism from locals. Charlie reported the officer stating "it wasn't for him to examine the decisions," which the correspondent described as "a bizarre statement from the constable of a police force."
Residents expressed frustration about counter-protesters wearing masks being permitted at previous demonstrations, which they believed had escalated tensions. Peters noted locals felt this approach had "generated hostility" in their community.