Black Lives Matter protest organisers say Victoria Police backflipped on their promise to drop protest charges, court hears

Melbourne’s Black Lives Matter protest organisers say police backflipped on their promise to drop charges after unwanted media attention, a court has heard.

Black Lives Matter protest organisers say police ‘backflipped’ on their promise to drop charges. Picture: William West.

Leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement who allegedly organised a protest when Covid restrictions were in place say police have backflipped on their promise to drop charges.

Crystal McKinnon and Meriki Onus were charged after they allegedly contravened the chief health officer’s Covid directions by planning a Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne’s CBD in June 2020.

At Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday, the pair’s defence barrister Lucien Richter said there had been an “abuse of process” after a police officer told them the charges would be withdrawn before reneging on the assurance.

Black Lives Matter rally organisers Crystal McKinnon and Meriki Onus. Picture: Jason Edwards

Mr Richter said he was told the charges would be dropped because they were “fatally flawed” but when the withdrawal received media attention on July 6, police decided to continue with the prosecution.

“The application is brought for a collateral or ulterior motive or purpose, namely to defend the reputation in the media of Victoria Police,” he said.

Mr Richter said police claimed there was a communications bungle as the acting sergeant who withdrew the charges was not authorised to do so.

Prosecutor Marc Fisken told the court the acting sergeant was never in a position to drop the charges because he was not part of the prosecution’s team and police were instead seeking to have the charges amended.

But Mr Richter said he took the police’s intention to amend the offences to lesser charges as a “concession” that they were flawed.

The Black Lives Matter protests occurred in the thick of Melbourne’s second major lockdown. Picture: Alex Coppel

In June 2020, more than 10,000 protesters gathered in Melbourne’s CBD to march against Aboriginal deaths in custody.

Mr Richter said safety measures were put in place, including the handing out of more than 50,000 masks and hand sanitiser bottles.

“This was not a petulant protest about anti-vax sentiment,” he said,

“This was a legitimate expression of a long running, simmering problem in Australian society of black deaths in custody.”

At the time of the rally, Covid directions were in place that banned the gathering of groups of more than 20 people.

Mr Richter said protesters were asked to march in groups of 19 or fewer in order to comply with the directions.

McKinnon and Onus were fined $1652 each for breaching the orders.

The matter will return to court on August 17.