Man, 42, charged after Portsmouth anti-migrant protest
He has been been charged with violent disorder and assaulting a police officer, and will appear in court tomorrow
A 42-year-old man has been charged with violent disorder and assaulting a police officer after an anti-migrant protest in Portsmouth last weekend.
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Del Leon Somerville, of Walsingham Close in Paulsgrove, became the first person to be arrested on Friday morning following last Sunday's protests.
He will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Saturday.
It comes after police launched an investigation into violence during the protest, which saw more than 200 people gather at Eastney Ferry Landing after the arrival of an 140 migrant 'mega-dinghy'.
Official vehicles were damaged and a small number of police officers were injured at the scene, Hampshire Police said.
Yesterday the RNLI announced it had launched a security review after some members had their names and photos leaked online and were called "traitors" for carrying around 140 migrants intercepted off the Isle of Wight to land.
Ahead of two planned protests in Portsmouth city centre on Saturday, police have announced that anyone wearing a face mask could be arrested under newly enforced powers.
The force said it will use the powers under the Crime and Policing Act 2025 to “allow peaceful protest and prevent violence."
A peaceful protest by the South Coast Patriots and a counter-demonstration held by Stand up for Racism is due to go ahead in the town's city centre on Saturday.
Assistant Chief Constable Tony Rowlinson said: “We have been consistently clear that violence and criminal damage have no part in peaceful protest and we will investigate incidents like this thoroughly and take robust action against those responsible.
“Clearly events on Sunday evening were not peaceful protest, rather violent public disorder, and this will not be tolerated as we work to keep our wider communities in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight safe.”
The force said since the incident detectives have been reviewing hundreds of hours of footage to identify offences that were committed and so far 75% has been assessed.
Mr Rowlinson said it is not always possible to arrest suspects at the time of public order policing, particularly when there is a need to review evidence to identify those involved.
“I want to be really clear to all of those involved, this arrest is the first of what we fully anticipate to be a number of arrests as we identify those responsible for any assaults to officers, criminal damage to vehicles, or other criminal offences committed on Sunday evening.”
He added the arrest sends a “clear warning” to anyone else intending to cause disruption and disorder at future events, as protests are set to go ahead in the port city this weekend.