Evidence-gathering operation carried out at Antrim protest against NI protocol - warnings issued to participants - letter demanding resignation of Chief Constable Simon Byrne delivered to PSNI station

Hundreds attended the protest against the ‘NI Protocol and two-tiered policing’ in NI which saw protestors walk throgh the heart of the town.

On social media a supprter said: “Glad to see the town of Antrim came out in force against the protocol, just like Carrick did two days ago”.

And Loyalist commentator Jamie Bryson said: “Another fabulous turnout in Antrim for a peaceful protest parade against the violence-rewarding Protocol & structurally imbalanced ‘process’ designed to incrementally ease NI out of the UK by stealth.”

Chief Inspector Rory Bradley said: “Police were in attendance at an un-notified procession in Antrim town centre on Saturday evening, 8 May.

“There were no reports of anti-social behaviour or disorder.

“Organisers of parades are required to give formal notification of their intentions.

“A number of warnings were given to participants, and an evidence-gathering operation was in place.

“We will now review all the footage gathered and consider any suspected offences under the Public Processions (NI) Act 1998 or breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A message from our editor: Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.