‘Violence & disorder' with missiles thrown at cops & houses damaged as rioting breaks out in Irish town after protest
RIOTING has broken out in a town in Northern Ireland leading to a significant police presence on the streets to deal with the public disorder.
Footage on social media showed armoured police officers carrying plastic shields responding after an anti-immigration protest in Ballymena, Co Antrim.
4
4
The disruption followed a protest of around 2,500 people in the Clonavon Terrace part of the town.
The gathering was held after an alleged sexual assault occurred over the weekend.
The footage showed people burning plastic road barriers and bins as part of a barricade on the street.
Some masked individuals also threw missiles including cans of paint and glass bottles at PSNI vehicles.
A line of police vehicles advanced towards the protesters followed by officers on foot.
Firefighters later responded to the burning debris on the road and inspected a nearby house which had filled with smoke.
Other footage appeared to show some protesters targeting houses by smashing windows.
In a statement, the PSNI said: 'A number of missiles have been thrown towards police with damage reported to a number of properties.
'Officers are advising motorists and pedestrians to avoid the Clonavon Road area until further notice.'
The statement added: 'Officers are in attendance to ensure the safety of everyone involved. They will remain in the area tonight to continue to monitor the situation.'
Chief Superintendent Sue Steen said: 'We are urging everyone to remain calm and to act responsibly. Violence and disorder will only place people at greater risk.
'Our priority is to keep the community safe, and I would appeal to everyone to work with us to bring calm to the area as quickly as possible.'
The PSNI asked anyone with information to contact them on 101 or make a report online via www.psni.police.uk/makeareport.
Alternatively, information can be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
4
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
22 minutes ago
- BBC News
Sean Brown witness speaks about suspect sighting for first time
An eyewitness in the Sean Brown case said he was "baffled" that a female suspect he picked out of an identity parade shortly after the murder was released without Brown, 61, was abducted by the Loyalist Volunteer Force at a GAA club in Bellaghy, County Londonderry, and shot dead near Randalstown, County Antrim, in eyewitness, who is speaking publicly for the first time, saw the woman with two men in a car at the club the night before the murder in what is suspected to have been a scouting Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the Brown family had too many unanswered questions and those questions were "valid". In 2024 a court heard more than 25 people, including state agents, had been linked by intelligence to Mr Brown's information the eyewitness provided about the woman and the car, a white Vauxhall Nova, was central to a fresh PSNI probe and BBC Crimewatch appeal in BBC is calling the witness John to disguise his identity because of his fear of told Spotlight what happened the night before the murder of Mr Brown, who was chairman of the Bellaghy club."I was the last one going out. Sean was still there to lock up," he said."I just thought it was just someone turning at the front of the club."The lady that was driving the car stared me straight in the face."There was two men and they were hiding their faces." John told the Spotlight programme, Murder Without Answers, that he took his information to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) shortly after Mr Brown's helped compile a photofit and was then brought to Belfast to an identity parade."I picked her out right away. I seen the same face right away," he said."The woman constable was standing beside me, and she says, yes we have her."John said that after the identity parade he was shocked when the woman he picked out and other suspects were released."I went home and kept listening to the radio, watching TV and a couple of days later these people were let out without charge," he said."It left me baffled. I'm still thinking – why?"A Police Ombudsman examination of the case in 2004 found the original RUC investigation was "incomplete and inadequate".It has since emerged some intelligence information was not provided to the ombudsman at the time. No-one has ever been charged over Mr Brown's murder and it is now known that intelligence was withheld from detectives in both the original RUC probe and the re-investigation by the a statement to Spotlight, the PSNI said Mr Brown was a "pillar of the community" and his family had a right to know what added that it had previously apologised to the Brown family for failings in the RUC investigation and was sorry for what was discovered during new Brown's daughter Clare Loughran told Spotlight that receiving information about state agents last year confirmed her family's suspicions."I felt physically sick," she said."The wave of emotion was incredible. It was very, very difficult to hear." Her sister Siobhán Brown said it prompted further questions:"You'd wonder why first of all, how long has this been planned for. What or who was involved?" she said."Who gave the order from on high to say Sean Brown has to be taken out?"The Brown family have long campaigned for a public inquiry into the government has appealed a court ruling that found it should hold a public inquiry, arguing it was not an issue which the courts should also believes the implications of the court ruling would go beyond the Brown Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said he expressed his deepest sympathy to the Brown family for the many years they have waited for said he intended to ensure the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), established under the Legacy Act, would be able to carry out an investigation comparable to a public some victims' families say the ICRIR does not have the powers to investigate such ICRIR told Spotlight that proposed legislative reforms could result in it being able to have human rights compliant hearings led by an independent judge.
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Anti-ICE mayhem explodes in Austin and Dallas as cops confront protesters demanding an end to Trump's deportations
Protesters in two of Texas ' largest cities clashed with police on Monday night to show solidarity with demonstrations in Los Angeles against President Donald Trump 's sweeping deportation raids. As Trump mobilized 700 Marines to deal with the mayhem in LA, tensions quickly escalated in Dallas and Austin at anti-Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) rallies. Dallas police began arresting individuals just before 9pm after they pleaded with protestors to stay off the Margret Hunt Hill Bridge, a busy thoroughfare into downtown filled with cars zooming by. As darkness fell on the city, a line of cops blocked the advance of the protestors who seemed determine to take control of the bridge. Police declared an 'unlawful assembly,' warning more arrests could be coming just before 10pm. It was unclear late Monday how many had been taken into custody. 'That's not protesting. That's vandalism,' Noah Webster posted on X. The gathering was also declared unlawful, and eventually, Austin police deployed tear gas for those who refused to go home and comply with orders. Arrests were made by officers from several agencies who were staged in the area. The agency's arrests of law-abiding migrants, including ones with legal status, have spurred much of the anger behind the nationwide demonstrations. A video of a 52-year-old mother being arrested without a warrant in Westminster, Maryland has gone viral in recent days. The woman, pulled over by ICE agents, asks why she was pulled over and if they have a warrant for her. 'Show us the warrant,' the Salvadoran woman and her daughter plead with the federal agent. 'I'm not going to give you the warrant,' the officer replies. The woman responded by saying she wouldn't exit the car without a warrant, when agents shattered her window, to her daughter's desperate screams. 'You guys cannot take her just because you guys want to,' her daughter yells through tears.' The mother calmly complies with law enforcement, urging her kids to remain calm. ICE protesters covered parts of the federal building in graffiti. Here is what they left. — DASH (@DocumentingATX) June 10, 2025 View this post on Instagram A post shared by 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐚 (@thefuddhist) Her son pleads with officers, claiming his mother is in the middle of a legal immigration process. Arrests that seem to buck every rule of American law enforcement and Constitutionality since Trump took office have angered many across the country. However, President Trump won a second term in the White House in large part due to his campaign promise to carry out the largest deportations in the nation's history. Around 8:30 p.m., Austin Police declared a protest in downtown unlawful assembly and threatened to deploy tear gas if people didn't leave.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Los Angeles authorities dispersed crowds with flash-bangs, pepper balls
Los Angeles authorities continue to disperse anti-ICE protestors using flash-bang grenades and firing pepper balls to move 10, 2025
