Man in prison after plotting fresh anti-lockdown protest for Sydney
An organiser of Sydney’s latest anti-lockdown protest will spend months in jail after he fronted court today and admitted to multiple offences.
A Victorian man will spend three months in prison for breaching public health orders and for his part in organising an anti-lockdown rally planned for Sydney on Saturday.
Anthony Khallouf, the founder of Australians vs The Agenda, was arrested on Thursday at Hornsby railway station, where he told police he was lost.
The 29-year-old arrived in Sydney last weekend after driving from Queensland in breach of travel restrictions.
He had reportedly been staying in a four-star hotel in the city’s north.
He appeared at Hornsby Local Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to four counts of not complying with a Covid direction, one count of encouraging the commission of crimes and one count of false representation resulting in police investigation.
He was sentenced to a maximum of eight months in prison, with a non-parole period of three months.
He will be released on parole on November 18.
On its website, The Australians vs The Agenda claims to be on a “mission to help create mass-scale awakening of Australian citizens”.
It claims to “fight for everyday Aussies who have been oppressed, arrested and charged by a tyrannical Australian Government that treats us like political prisoners”.
People have been warned to expect massive fines and potential criminal charges if they attend Saturday’s protest in Sydney, where they will be met by more than 1400 officers including riot squad and mounted police.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott said on Friday people attending the rally risked a further extension of the lockdown they were protesting against.
“You’ll also be endangering the lives of your loved ones and of course prolonging this lockdown,” he said.
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