Pregnant Ballarat mum arrested for planning anti-lockdown rally
A pregnant mum charged with organising an anti-lockdown rally in Ballarat has no remorse for planning the event in defiance of restrictions, instead saying Daniel Andrews should be the one “feeling remorseful”.
Police & Courts
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A pregnant woman arrested over an anti-lockdown rally in Ballarat has said she doesn’t regret planning the illegal protest despite being charged by police.
Zoe Lee, 28, will face court in January after being charged with incitement over a prohibited gathering due to take place on Saturday.
Speaking after her arrest, Ms Lee said she isn’t sorry for her actions.
“I’m not relishing in the limelight or anything - I have no intentions of getting famous from this or anything like that,” she told 3AW
“I’m someone who has a strong opinion and I’m glad my opinion is getting out there.
“If lockdowns are eased and it was just little old me who managed to make a difference then I’m glad about that.
“The protest never actually happened, no one was actually harmed, restrictions weren’t broken or anything like that so I guess I’m not remorseful.”
She added: “I feel like someone like Daniel Andrews should be feeling remorseful to be honest. I feel sorry for him to be honest but at the same time maybe this will be a bit of slap in the face to say ‘oh crap, I’ve gone too far’.
When asked what she thinks about the planned Freedom Day rally due to take place in Melbourne CBD this Saturday, Ms Lee said she couldn’t comment because she could face further incitement charges.
“As per my bail conditions I actually can’t comment on that. I’d love to give my opinion but I’m not allowed to,” she said.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius has defended officers who arrested a woman in Ballarat.
“They were polite, they were professional,” he said.
“Our members did everything they could to assist this individual with her concerns.”
He said the woman was allowed to get changed out of her pajamas before being questioned at a police station.
“They (police) were there to conduct a search warrant in the pursuit of evidence,” he said.
“This wasn’t some casual encounter, this was our members attending a premises to execute a search warrant because we believed on reasonable ground.”
Mr Cornelius said police did not discriminate when making arrests but admitted the “optics” of arresting a pregnant woman “did not look good”.
On Wednesday Video emerged on social media of Zoe Lee being put in handcuffs prior to a police raid at her home.
Wearing pink flannelette pajamas, Ms Lee breaks down in tears and asks the officers not to arrest her and says she is about to attend an ultrasound appointment.
“I didn’t realise I was doing anything wrong. This is ridiculous,” Ms Lee said.
“I am happy to delete the post. This is ridiculous. My two kids are here.
“I have an ultrasound appointment in an hour.”
A police officer can be heard telling the woman she is under arrest for incitement and that all electronic items including mobile phones and laptops would be seized as evidence.
Ms Lee is listed as the organiser of a “Freedom Day Ballarat” planned for Saturday.
“As some of you may have seen the government has gone to extreme measures and are using scare tactics through the media to prevent the Melbourne protest,” the event page reads.
“Here in Ballarat we can be a voice for those in Stage 4 lockdowns.
“End lockdowns. Stand for human rights. We live in a *free* country.”
Ms Lee’s brother has launched an online fundraiser to help pay for her legal costs.
Jordon Buhler said his sister organised the protest to support people feeling isolated during lockdowns.
“She wanted to raise awareness for mental health issues and suicide awareness during these hard times,” he wrote.
“She said she wanted to meet with face masks and social distancing... she was then delt (sic) a warrant and arrested and told that she could be facing 4-15 years in jail for a post.”
The arrest comes amid an escalation by police to prevent anti-lockdown protests planned for Saturday.
At least three other protest organisers have been arrested over incitement.
Police fear thousands of people could flood the CBD in protest of lockdown measures amid the promising drop in daily COVID-19 cases.
Victoria Police has warned those still thinking of attending the protest in Ballarat on Saturday can expect a swift and firm response from police.
They said they would have no hesitation in making arrests, if necessary, or issuing $1652 fines to anyone breaching restrictions on the day.
COPS VISIT NEWMAN OVER PROTEST COMMENT
Sam Newman said he was surprised to receive a visit from police on Wednesday.
On Sunday he posted a controversial tweet urging Victorians to “take the city/state back”.
He said he used an arbitrary figure of 250,000 and was just trying to draw attention to the dire situation for struggling businesses.
“They were very pleasant and personable and probably realised that was all fake news,’’ Newman said.
“It was a tongue in cheek tweet.
“Obviously I wasn’t trying to organise anything and they wanted to be assured.”
Newman said the efficient officers were advising him against protesting which he assured them was never happening.
- Jackie Epstein
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