Reporter details experience after violent attack by ‘anti-war protesters’ in Melbourne
A reporter who became caught up in the ‘vile and violent’ anti-war protest has spoken about her experience in detail.
A reporter who was swarmed in heated scenes during a horror anti-war protest outside a Melbourne weapons expo has spoken of her experience, describing it as “vile and violent”.
Thousands gathered in the city CBD on Wednesday morning, a major street was blocked off, riot police were called in and journalists were harassed live on camera.
Protesters clashed with police outside the exhibition, throwing horse manure and rocks, while officers made arrests and swung batons in efforts to subdue tensions.
Channel 7 Sunrise reporter Teegan Dolling was doing a live cross when three masked and unmasked protesters swarmed her, sticking up middle fingers to the camera and bumping Dolling.
One female protester put her hand over the camera lens, Dolling pushed her arm away and what appeared to be private security guarding the reporter stepped in, but the protester managed to put hands on the camera at least one more time.
“That’s not on if people are actually mishandling our reporter,” host Natalia Barr said from the studio.
In the hours after the protest, she penned a piece for 7news.com.au where she described the protest as “vile and violent”.
“First there was the stench of OC spray in the air, then came the overwhelming smell of vomit, as protesters threw water balloons filled with sick at police, delegates and media,” Ms Dolling wrote.
“Ducking for cover as padlocks, apples, chairs and horse manure were hurled towards anyone the activists assume held different views.”
She said Melbourne had once been the most liveable country in the world and has seen many protests, but “none this vile and violent”.
“The aggression came in waves, as police surged towards the 2000-strong group to remove them from the road, escort members of the public to safety, or to extinguish flames,” she wrote.
Ms Dolling said protesters didn’t listen to directions to move and reacted with attacks on police and cruelty towards horses.
Then aggression turned to the media.
“A group surrounded our crew live on air, throwing a bottle at the cameraman,” she said.
“Footage from the scene captured the moment I tried to protect my colleague from the relentless abuse, only for the protesters to give rude gestures towards the camera.
“The hostility forced our Sunrise colleagues to cut the feed so we could retreat to a safe place.
“Peaceful activists gave out masks when OC was sprayed, asked if media were okay after copping abuse from ugly demonstrators and offered water, but they were in the minority.”
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters police were appalled by the behaviour on Wednesday.
“We have always said we are comfortable for people to come and protest peacefully...that wasn’t the case today,” he said.
“The type of images that we saw on Spencer Street Bridge today, where protesters lit fires to bins, they were standing there in in full face balaclavas with ski masks on. There was no snow there.
“They only wore those for one reason, to avoid being subject to spray when they came with intent to provoke, to attack, to try and raise the awareness for their cause.”
Chief Commissioner Patton said police were attacked by the protesters.
He said 24 officers had been treated for a range of injuries including sprains, strains, irritants and substances thrown at them requiring decontamination.
Police horses were also targeted.
“I do say targeted because I’m told a number were punched,” he said.
“The protesters did try and distract the horses, and there was some officers have said they actually had feces thrown at them.
“This is the type of disgusting behavior that we saw today from a group who are intent on confronting us at this stage.”
He said the behaviour was “appalling” and 39 people have now been arrested and charged.
They have been charged with a variety of offences including assault police, hinder, police, obstruct police, generalized assault, arson and blocking roadways.
“The disappointing thing for us is that they came there clearly, and we knew this from intelligence that’s why we planned so well, that they came there with an intent to confront and they did, from my point of view,” he said.
ehavior, we will take action, as we have done today.”
The crowd of thousands of protesters had mostly dispersed by 1pm, and shortly after police released a statement saying demonstrators had been armed with dangerous weapons.
“Some police have been spat at by protesters, whilst other officers have been sprayed with a liquid irritant, some of which has been identified as acid,” Victoria Police said.
“Victoria Police is appalled at the behaviour of some of the protesters in attendance.
“Police are there to ensure the highest level of safety and security throughout the event.
“This morning, those police have been pelted with missiles, including bottles filled with liquid rocks, and horse manure whilst trying to protect the attendees of the Land Forces expo, some of whom were also assaulted by protesters,” a police spokesperson said.
More than 20 people were arrested outside the weapons expo as the demonstration became chaotic.
A statement from co-organisers of the rally, Wage Peace, said after a morning of confrontations with authorities, 22 people had been taken into custody.
In the statement, protester Hugh claimed he had been violently detained during the rally.
“I was holding a placard to protest the weapons trade when police threw me to the ground and kneed me several times in the back, causing large bruises,” Hugh said in comments reportedly made from a police cell.
“The degree of police violence we saw today clearly demonstrates how invested our government is in supporting arms dealers at the expense of all life,” he said.
The protesters say they delayed the Land Forces expo VIP breakfast and the opening of the expo through their actions.
“None of us are free until all of us are free. The genocide in Gaza, atrocities in West Papua, slavery in Congo, forced starvation in Sudan are all a result of militarism,” protest spokeswoman Caroline Da Silva said.
“Directly acting to prevent harm is in the DNA of all people of conscience. Direct action is a bedrock of democracy” she said.
The organisers say more than 50 groups had come together to protest this week.
Land Forces “is a one stop genocide shop, where weapons change hands in deals worth billions,” organisers said.
“Immense human suffering and planetary damage result from the deals done at Land Forces.”
More than 25,000 people had been expected to surround the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday, rallying against the Land Forces Defence Expo being held inside.
As of late morning, there were still several thousand protesters at various points surrounding the convention centre.
Protesters chanted “Free Palestine” and “money for houses and education, not for weapons corporations”.
Elsewhere, at least one photographer got hit with pepper spray, and a Daily Mail reporter was struck with police rubber bullets.
Premier Jacinta Allan said there were between 2000 and 3000 protesters outside the convention centre about 10am.
“I say to anyone going down to threaten police, to threaten community safety, (they) will absolutely be dealt with by Victoria Police,” she said.
“Victoria Police members are there doing their job … they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”
The Premier took a shot at state Greens MP Gabrielle de Vietri, who left parliament to attend the protest.
“She has turned her back on her role as representing the community of Richmond. They deserve better than that … if (she) can’t turn up and do her job as an elected member of parliament, she should hand back the keys to her office,” Ms Allan said.
Police had turned out in force to manage the protesters with a “ring of steel” around the exhibition centre, but when the group began to move from their place outside the building and towards a major intersection, a heated clash broke out between the two.
Shocking footage showed horse manure being picked up by protesters and flung towards mounted police, with other reports suggesting rocks had also been thrown at officers.
Earlier vision showed protesters surrounding a police horse, with one person grabbing its bridle as an officer sat on top of the animal.
Footage shows officers subduing and arresting two protesters and an officer striking a person with his baton.
Today reporter Christine Ahearn, reporting from the scene, was caught up in earlier chaos, with protesters surrounding her and trying to grab her microphone as she crossed live to the Nine studio.
She told host Karl Stefanovic there had been a “heated clash” between the group, made up of pro-Palestine and Extinction Rebellion activist groups and police.
“We’ve seen police are actually being pelted with projectiles,” she said.
“Some have actually grabbed the reins of the horses, trying to stop them and pull them back. “And obviously police got out their batons and were actually clashing with protesters trying to stop that.”
Police fired pepper spray towards the huge group in a bid to regain control of the situation, with live footage from the scene showing the crowd back under control about 8.30am.
The reporters and cameras of other media outlets have been pushed, blocked and screamed at during live crosses. The Herald Sun reports seeing a police officer with blood streaming down his face.
Traffic on roads surrounding the expo is backed up, with vehicles stuck at a standstill for 45 minutes in some spots. Police are walking in large groups on highways letting cars drip through the jam.
According to activist group Wage Peace - Disrupt War, the protest group were marching to the back entrance “to disrupt Land Forces while attendees are going through security checks”.
Victoria Police has been given “special powers” under the Terrorism (Community Protection) Act in the area surrounding the exhibition centre until 11.59pm on September 15.
Under the powers it’s an offence to hinder a search or fail to comply with a direction to remove a face covering.
“This is expected to be our largest operation since the World Economic Forum in 2000,” a Victoria Police spokesman said.
Hundreds of regional police have been deployed to Melbourne for the event, alongside metro general duties police and specialist officers.
Scheduled to run from September 11-13, the Land Forces expo will bring together almost 1000 exhibitions from 31 countries.
However the Disrupt Land Forces activist group have claimed the event “facilitate(s) murder”.
“We unequivocally oppose the glorification of death, destruction, and genocide being carried out with weapons developed on this continent and showcased at Land Forces,” Disrupt Land Forces said in an open letter.
“From Palestine to West Papua, these companies facilitate murder, displacement, land desecration and colonisation in the name of western imperialist interests.”
The group has called for an “end to all weapons exports to states engaged in genocide and militarised repression”.
When asked for her thoughts on Sky News on Wednesday morning, deputy Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley said the group should “get a job”.
“These people need to get a job,” she said.
“They need to actually, it’s like rent a crowd every single time we have one of these protests. “I back our defence industries every single day of the week, and I know that Australians massively, absolutely do so as well.”
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