Outraged by accusations that an asylum-seeker had sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl, thousands of flag-waving, bottle-throwing, firework-wielding Irish citizens surrounded a migrant hotel in southwest Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday night, setting fire to a police vehicle.

Six people were arrested from a furious crowd estimated to have numbered approximately 2,000. The Irish police force -- or "Gardai" -- say they were on the receiving end of "sustained violence" that included glass bottles, bricks and fireworks. Despite the onslaught, a line of Gardai in riot gear were able to prevent the mob from reaching the hotel. Bringing the "torches and pitchforks" metaphor to life, the fed-up citizens brandished pitchforks and other garden tools, along with fireworks and handheld lasers, and chanted "GET THEM OUT!" Some 300 Gardai mounted the defense, employing a water cannon.

"This was obviously not a peaceful protest," said police commissioner Justin Kelly. "The actions this evening can only be described as thuggery. This was a mob intent on violence against gardai. I utterly condemn the attacks on gardaí who did their jobs professionally and with great courage to keep people safe."

The violence erupted at the Citywest hotel in Saggart. At 764 beds, it's the largest hotel in all of Ireland, and last month the government bought it for €148 million so it could be converted to a permanent facility for housing migrants, euphemistically calling it an "international protection accommodation centre." The purchase came over the objection of locals, who'd organized several protests over the summer and amassed more than 8,000 signatures on a petition against the permanent conversion. The hotel's leisure center has 3,000 local members. The government plans to keep it open, though we'd imagine fewer locals will want to put themselves in reach of the hive of migrants.

That's especially true after the latest of so many sexual assaults perpetrated by migrants throughout Europe. This one was especially sick: According to local media, a 26-year-old migrant was charged with sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl on the hotel grounds between 11pm Sunday and 1:30am Monday. Reportedly, the girl has been in state care after her family struggled with her behavioral problems, but she'd given the slip to her minders on a recreational trip to downtown Dublin, only to fall prey to the 26-year-old migrant.

Consistent with Irish regulations on sex-assault cases, authorities haven't named the alleged perpetrator, who told arresting officers, "I have nothing to say." He's been granted legal aid since he's (shocker!) unemployed. While officials haven't described his origins, his lawyer quickly asked for an Arabic interpreter. The Irish Times says their sources indicate he's from an African country and came to Ireland six years ago. His asylum application was rejected last year, and earlier this year was given a deportation order -- yet he has remained in the country.

Monday saw a mild protest at the hotel, with an orderly crowd of a mere 60 or 70. After word of the assault became widespread, local anger exploded on Tuesday, spurring thousands of Irish citizens to set upon the hotel, ready to unleash violence on the hotel and the Gardai protecting it.

Irish Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan condemned the uprising, and attempted to portray the actions of the mob as unrepresentative of how local citizens feel about the mass infusion of supposed "asylum-seekers":

"This is unacceptable and will result in a forceful response from the gardaí. Those involved will be brought to justice. It is clear to me from talking to colleagues that this violence does not reflect the people of Saggart. They are not the people participating in this criminality, but rather the people sitting at home in fear of it."

In a pathetic move, O'Callaghan suggested the crowd wasn't sincere in its outrage over the latest example of a sex crime perpetrated by a migrant who's contributing nothing to Irish society, accusing the locals of opportunistically "weaponising....a crime...to sow dissent in our society." Next he'll tell us it has all the hallmarks of a Russian interference campaign.