Story Bridge sit-in protest: Alternative event a fizzer
Six people have been charged, including two who glued themselves to a road, during an asylum seeker protest in Brisbane after plans to occupy the Story Bridge were thwarted.
QLD Politics
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Police have charged six people, including two people who glued themselves to a road, following a pro-asylum seeker protest at Brisbane’s Kangaroo Point.
Four men and two women were charged and face a total of 12 charges, including disobeying a direction, public nuisance and disrupting traffic.
The two men who glued their hands to the road in Walmsley St were charged with obstructing police.
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Several hundred people endured heavy rain to attended the event that had last week planned to block the Story Bridge.
The State Government successfully sought a Supreme Court injunction on Thursday to prevent the planned march.
However, police refused to take any chances, with foot traffic closed on the bridge and pedestrians turned back.
A handful of protesters settled on causing alternative traffic disruption, by staging a sit-in on Main Street and gluing themselves to bitumen on Warmsley Street in the inner-Brisbane suburb.
The protesters announced they would “take the road for eight minutes” in an attempt to bring attention to 120 men detained in a nearby hotel.
Police were forced to use acetone to remove the protesters’ hands from the bitumen.
A police inspector read legislation to the activists over a megaphone, informing them police would direct them to move off the road. The protesters responded by shouting “F..k the police.”
Several hundred protesters initially gathered at Raymond Park, before wild weather hit.
“You do have a right to peaceful protest despite the events last week,” an Action Ready spokeswoman told the crowd.
“It is not illegal to peacefully assemble in a public place or on the footpath.
“Keep in mind social distancing is still in place and people have been issued with COVID fines.”
Tempers were heated with a shoving match breaking out between protesters and police, before protesters changed tact and held eight minutes of silence.
The switch to Raymond Park was announced yesterday, with the group citing concerns over the threat of police violence, including potential use of chemical weapons and mounted police.
“The state has become obsessed with stopping this protest from going ahead,” the group said in a statement.
“We expect any attempt to sit down on the bridge to be met with a large police presence, including the use of chemical weapons and mounted police.
“With all this in mind, we don’t think we can take the bridge as initially planned.”
Justice Jean Dalton on Thursday made a declaration that if the planned protest were to go ahead on the bridge or Main St, Kangaroo Point, it would interfere with public rights.
A similar injunction was issued last week, before the protest was postponed.
