A Reform UK activist who organized protests outside a migrant hotel in Essex was arrested after displaying a Union Jack flag at the Epping District Council building. Sarah White, 40, a mother of five, was taken into custody on Sunday evening after holding the flag above the entrance to the council’s Civic Centre.
Video footage showed police moving in and placing her in a van as bystanders shouted in protest.
Essex Police said White was charged with “failing to comply with the conditions of participation of a procession and being a public procession organiser failing to comply with a notice.” The conditions were tied to a Section 14 order, which restricted protest activity to a fenced-off area across the road from The Bell Hotel and required demonstrations to end by 8 pm.
Police claim no one was arrested for simply unfurling a flag, stressing that the charges were linked to the protest order. White has been bailed to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on October 15.
The protests at the hotel began after a migrant was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. White, a Reform UK member, had been one of the key organizers of the demonstrations.
Speaking after her release on Monday, White condemned the arrest. “It is an absolute disgrace,” she said. “I am considering legal action against the police. I was one click away from my arm being broken. It's disgusting," she said according to the Daily Mail.
She added that she would not be silenced. “I feel like a political prisoner in a way. They tried to make an example of me. I will not stop expressing my view and sharing concerns. I am still campaigning.”
The arrest attention after Reform Party figures accused police of targeting opposition voices. Commentator Raheem Kassam wrote on X that a Reform candidate was “violently arrested by the Labour government’s police for the crime of… flying the British flag from a public building.”
Video footage showed police moving in and placing her in a van as bystanders shouted in protest.
Essex Police said White was charged with “failing to comply with the conditions of participation of a procession and being a public procession organiser failing to comply with a notice.” The conditions were tied to a Section 14 order, which restricted protest activity to a fenced-off area across the road from The Bell Hotel and required demonstrations to end by 8 pm.
Police claim no one was arrested for simply unfurling a flag, stressing that the charges were linked to the protest order. White has been bailed to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on October 15.
The protests at the hotel began after a migrant was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. White, a Reform UK member, had been one of the key organizers of the demonstrations.
Speaking after her release on Monday, White condemned the arrest. “It is an absolute disgrace,” she said. “I am considering legal action against the police. I was one click away from my arm being broken. It's disgusting," she said according to the Daily Mail.
She added that she would not be silenced. “I feel like a political prisoner in a way. They tried to make an example of me. I will not stop expressing my view and sharing concerns. I am still campaigning.”
The arrest attention after Reform Party figures accused police of targeting opposition voices. Commentator Raheem Kassam wrote on X that a Reform candidate was “violently arrested by the Labour government’s police for the crime of… flying the British flag from a public building.”
