Another anti-lockdown protest planned for a ‘secret’ location
More than a thousand protesters could again descend on Melbourne for another anti-lockdown protest on Saturday, but the location is being kept top secret to avoid police intervention.
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More than a thousand anti-lockdown protesters could rally again at the Tan on Saturday after a weekend of clashes with police.
A ‘Melbourne Freedom Walk’ has been organised on Facebook and is being closely monitored by police.
The event has gained interest from more than 1400 people and is being described by organisers as a “legal walk, allowing citizens to come together, get healthy and talk about getting our freedoms back”.
A second secret protest has also been planned for the City of Melbourne on Sunday.
The location of the demonstration will be kept secret until an hour before the event to keep authorities at bay.
Both protests are believed to have been organised by Tony Pecora, a conspiracy theorist who was dropped by Clive Palmer as his party’s candidate for the seat of Melbourne at the last federal election.
Victoria Police said it is “aware and monitoring” the potential protests organised for the weekend.
“We are currently making a number of inquiries in relation to this and remain in the process of planning our operational response,” a police spokesman said.
“It remains very clear that under Stage 4 Restrictions protest activity cannot occur, with any individual deliberately and blatantly breaching the Chief Health Officer’s directives liable for a fine of $1,652.”
Police arrested 17 people who took part in anti-lockdown protests at the Shrine of Remembrance and Albert Park Lake last Saturday.
One man was charged with assaulting police and more than 180 fines were issued to people for breaching health orders.
Several protest organisers – including pregnant Ballarat mum Zoe Lee Buhler – were arrested and charged with incitement in the lead up to last weekend’s rallies.
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