Anti-government protesters surrounded by police in Melbourne
Police have arrested dozens of anti-government protesters and a police officer has been taken to hospital after tensions boiled over at a rally outside state parliament during which plastic bottles were thrown at officers.
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Police arrested dozens of anti-lockdown turned anti-government protesters who rallied outside state parliament on Tuesday.
The force had little tolerance for the hundreds of “freedom” demonstrators who gathered from 12pm at the intersection of Bourke and Spring streets.
The rally attracted a significant and swift response from Victoria Police including the mounted branch, the public order response team, highway patrol, transit police, PSOs and general duties officers.
Officers formed a “ring of steel” around the group in order to contain their impact on traffic and public transport in Melbourne’s CBD.
This tactic heightened tensions in the crowd, causing some to violently clash with police.
One by one, the protesters were gradually arrested by the specialised public order response team.
Those who did not provide their details were taken away in divy vans.
Officers used capsicum spray to quell the rowdy crowd as tensions boiled over.
Coffee and plastic bottles were thrown at working police after scuffles emerged.
Police said they arrested 404 people and will issue 395 with penalty notices for offences including assault police, not wearing a mask, breaching public gathering directions, travelling more than 25km from their home and failing to state their name and address.
A female senior sergeant was taken to hospital with a suspected broken arm following an arrest.
“Victoria Police was disappointed to arrest a large number of protestors who again showed disregard for the safety of the broader community and the directions of the Chief Health Officer,” police spokeswoman Alex Day said.
The anti-lockdown group, who communicate on encrypted messaging platforms, want Premier Daniel Andrews to resign.
“Every Victorian that can see this man for who he truly is should come to the city and lawfully protest their opposition to the worst Premier in Victorian history,” an organiser said.
“We keep fighting till Daniel Andrews is gone.”
At the rally a woman on the microphone said: “COVID-19 is made up, it is a fiction - that is all there is to it.”
Many attendees did not wear face masks and social distancing was not possible.
One man wore a makeshift convict outfit while others wore ‘Make America Great Again’ caps.
A man who carried a Gadsden flag said he was “just exercising his rights” to be at the protest.
“This is meant to be Australia,” he said.
Another man carried a Eureka flag and imitated a Nazi salute.
One demonstrator was heard yelling “I can’t breathe” while being arrested by police.
Among the attendees was Liberal Democrat MP David Limbrick who was critical of the force.
“I think I’m the only politician who witnessed first hand the BLM (Black Lives Matter) protest back in June and the anti lockdown protest,” he said.
“Were they treated differently? Absolutely yes. Shocking.”
The anti-lockdown movement has gained traction amid the pandemic in Melbourne.
In October hundreds gathered at the Shrine where violence erupted and police officers and their horses were assaulted in the line of duty.
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