A sign lauding accused cop killer Dezi Freeman was brandished at yesterday’s anti-immigration protest in Adelaide, sparking concern in the federal government.
The sign, held up by an unknown protester, showed an image of Freeman with the caption “FREE MAN” underneath, with the words separated by a stylised Southern Cross.
Police slammed the sign as offensive – but not illegal – and one of the protest’s organisers said it was “ridiculous” and “unacceptable”.
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells said the protests around the country involved “awful scenes” involving “known racists”.
“I think it is particularly appalling the people that were aggressive and violent towards our police officers,” he said.
“Australia police are having a very hard week at the moment.”
She said the government’s focus was on how to curb the spread of the sovereign citizen movement online.
“I think everybody in Australia has (seen the uptick in) this kind of behaviour because people are able to organise online,” she said.
She said the spread of conspiracy theories associated with the movement should not be conflated with “legitimate” issues such as the ongoing housing crisis, which was cited as one of the reasons for the protests yesterday, when thousands attended anti-immigration rallies held across the country, testing police resources in every state.
Many rallies saw clashes between left- and right-wing activists and Melbourne witnessed the most arrests as violence erupted in the streets.
Emotions were heightened as March for Australia protesters turned out in force in almost every capital city calling for limits to migration.
Self-declared neo-Nazis took to the stage at some point at several of the protests, prompting discomfort from some of the crowd and condemnation from organisers.
Counter-protesters also made their voices heard.
“[It’s] trying to be disguised as something patriotic when they’re actually something quite hateful,” one said.
Arrests and pepper spray in Melbourne
Six people were arrested after rival protest groups clashed in the heart of Melbourne as outnumbered police tried desperately to keep them apart and away from passersby.
Pepper spray wasn’t enough to separate thousands of protesters as chaotic game of cat and mouse occupied the streets for more than seven hours.
Footage shows the two sides clashing and shouting at each other.
They gathered in their thousands at Flinders Street draped in Australian flags.
One protester pushing for an end to “mass immigration” claimed it wasn’t about race.
“If you come here you respect the country. You respect the culture. You adapt and be one of us. We’re all brothers,” another said.
But behind genuine displays of pride, known neo-Nazis were taking control.
Thomas Sewell, a self-proclaimed white nationalist was given the prime speaking spot from the steps of parliament.
“Today our men stood at the front of the march and when the Palestinians and the communists came charging at the Aussie flags it was our men that fought back,” he said.
He was flanked by dozens of members of his Neo-Nazi National Socialist Network who led a crowd of thousands down Bourke Street turning some of the city’s most famous landmarks into props for their hateful ideology.
Before the march they turned on each other, attacking right-wing podcaster Avi Yemini and his security entourage.
“They’re there to promote hate in the community, to blame people for their gripes and their complaints and their whinges, and they’re just unhinged grubs,” Police Minister Anthony Carbines said.
As the violence escalated from both sides, Nine’s own cameraman was knocked to the ground as a protester tried – and failed – to steal his equipment.
Six arrests were made and two police officers were injured after being hit by bottles thrown at them.
Arrests hours after protests in Sydney
While only one person was arrested during the protests in Sydney, two people police believed were involved in the earlier rally were charged after allegedly assaulting an officer during a brawl in the CBD.
Police were called to the Broadway bar about 5.15pm in response to reports a group of people at the bar were yelling offensively at passersby and a brawl kicked off.
They said the officer suffered minor injuries in an assault as police tried to break it up and two men, aged 29 and 48, were arrested.
They were this morning charged with affray, assaulting police and resisting police in the execution of duty, to appear in court this morning.
Police allege the 49-year-old assaulted a male constable, who the younger man also assaulted when police tried to arrest the older man.
Footage shows officers using pepper spray then making the arrests, and a shirtless man is filmed struggling with police before seeming to get away.
Mobile phone vision has also emerged of a protester with an Australian flag clashing with a passenger on a train at Redfern station, seemingly another hangover of a highly charged day.
The earlier arrest, in Hyde Park, involved a woman allegedly breaching the peace. She was taken to Day Street police Station.
Organisers of the rallies had called for there to be no violence and denied any links to neo-Nazis.
NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Scott Tanner said it was an “amazing effort” from police.
“There’s no further investigations into any matters that occurred today,” he said.
Thousands of people gathered at Belmore Park in the city for the rally.
“We are not a racist country, we just want a good calibre of people here in here,” one woman said.
They are calling for limits or an end to migration.
There was a huge police presence with several hundred funnelling the march down Broadway.
There were fears that the march could be hijacked by neo-Nazi hate groups and they were there front and centre leading the march.
Members of a White Australia group were there with their leader Jack Eltis.
“But we are here because anti-immigration is our key political issue,” he told 9News.
When asked if the group was racist he replied: “Yeah we are racist. We are proud of who we are as white men, we built this nation.”
He also confirmed the group’s members were “neo-Nazis”.
The front of the march might have presented one picture but the bulk of those marching behind appeared to be anything but extremist
At the end, at an open mic session the White Australia group seized control.
It was a hate speech and wasn’t winning over the majority of the crowd.
When the speaker was finished, police ushered the group away.
A few blocks away a march by the Refugee Action Coalition was a counter-protest condemning the White Australia group.
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