Rowville man’s covid protest backfires spectacularly

A Melbourne man who berated police after being fined for breaking lockdown rules went a step too far while walking away.

An anti-lockdown protester who was warned not to enter the CBD a day before a mass protest filmed his arrest while berating officers for enforcing “tyranny” and a “police state”.

The man, who uploaded videos of his arrest to YouTube, was handed a letter on Friday night by police explaining that he could not attend a planned protest the next day.

But on Saturday, he travelled 27km from Rowville, in Melbourne’s southeast, to the city where he was arrested not once but twice.

In videos seen by news.com.au, the man exits the Queen Victoria Market and confronts police who are arresting another man.

When he is asked to show identification after claiming to be independent media, he refuses and is arrested.

“Are we in Nazi Germany or Melbourne, Victoria?” the man asks police.

A lockdown protester burned his fine and was immediately arrested by police.

“I’m not going to pay this fine. And I’m going to take you all to court. See you there.”

But moments after being released, he walks past more police officers and tells them they have “created a police state”.

“It’s a f***ing police state, you can’t even go for a walk,” he tells an officer despite exercise being one of five reasons to leave the home.

“What are you swearing for?” an officer asks.

“Because I’m pissed off because you guys just got me for making a political statement. I didn’t know we were in North Korea.”

The officer tells him to “jog on” but within seconds the man lights his fine on fire in the middle of a busy footpath. Officers approach and he tells them: “You guys just gave me a bullshit fine.”

The man was warned the night before not to enter the CBD.

But his stunt led to his arrest for failing to obey a move on direction.

“You’ve stopped, you’ve burned your tickets. Failing to move on. You were told concisely to move on. You haven’t taken a direct route. He stopped and burned his tickets,” the officer says.

The protester then tells officers: “You guys are the worst. Absolute worst. I swear I hope you’re proud of your work. You are proud of destroying the state. Are we in a free country or is this like, North Korea.”

The footage comes as it was revealed some anti-lockdown protesters are facing six months behind bars after being charged with assaulting police.

Police arrested 14 people and pepper sprayed several others in connection with an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne on Saturday.

Charges laid include affray and assaulting police, which carries a six-month mandatory minimum jail term in Victoria.

Protesters charged with assaulting police if found guilty could go to prison for up to five years, the maximum jail term for that offence.

Two police officers and a protester were injured during scuffles that allegedly broke out as police cracked down on the protest march, which was aimed at voicing displeasure with Victoria’s lockdown imposed on Thursday and slated to last for seven days.

The protesters marched in defiance of the lockdown, which was imposed after an outbreak of a new variant of coronavirus spread widely in Melbourne and threatened public health.

The officers’ injuries were minor and happened as a group of six people were arrested at Victoria Street in North Melbourne, the force said.

— with NCA NewsWire