Convoy to Canberra protesters go crazy about ‘spy cam’ in tree

Footage has emerged of the moment a group of anti-vaxxers whipped themselves into a frenzy after spotting a mystery object in a tree.

Footage has emerged of the bizarre moment a group of anti-vaxxers whipped themselves into a frenzy over an alleged “hidden camera” in a tree.

The group were some of just thousands of protesters who descended on the nation’s capital as part of the “Convoy to Canberra” demonstration over the weekend, rallying against vaccine mandates.

The odd moment, uploaded to TikTok, began with a man approaching a tree and declaring “it’s a f***ing peephole camera, motion detected”.

A second man – recording the moment – then makes his way to the tree, while a third points to a “tiny camera” in the bark.

The trio draw the attention of fellow demonstrators, shouting “no way” at their claims.

The clip has since amassed close to 24,000 views, with many amused by the footage and declaring the protesters were simply paranoid.

Footage has emerged of the bizarre moment a group of anti-vaxxers whipped themselves into a frenzy over an alleged ‘hidden camera’ in a tree. Picture: TikTok

The odd moment, uploaded to TikTok, began with a man approaching a tree and declaring ‘it’s a f**king peephole camera, motion detected’. Picture: TikTok

While a minority of social media users insisted the trio actually found a hidden camera, one man offered a compelling answer.

There were of course those who also did fear the trio had actually found a hidden camera.

And another man in the comments pointed out it was likely a treatment plug from a chemjet – a device used to distribute pesticides, fungicides and fertilisers to the areas where they are most effective without releasing any of these chemicals in the environment.

The strange clip came after another weekend of protests in Canberra – with attendees made up of a number of loosely affiliated groups, including sovereign citizens, evangelical groups and anti-vaccine conspiracists.

Approximately 10,000 protesters travelled to the city on the weekend, after weeks of similar demonstrations that’s led many to camp at different sites around Canberra.

Four people connected with the protest were arrested overnight for camping illegally at the Cotter River, after many were evicted from Exhibition Park yesterday when their booking expired, resulting in three arrests.

ACT Policing’s Commander of Operations, Linda Champion, told ABC Radio Canberra this morning that a further four people had been arrested after moving to the Cotter-mouth Camping Grounds, in Canberra’s west, and staying there without a permit.

“Last night, we actually arrested another four people who didn’t want to obey lawful direction,” Commander Champion said.

“[Those protesters who stayed] have moved on to other campsites, which legally they have every right to do so.

“For those that then moved into overflow spaces, we then moved in and moved those campers on as well.

“We encourage them to use lawful campsites for available spots only, not for overflow areas.”

Demonstrators against Covid-19 mandates marching to Parliament House, Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman/.NCA NewsWire

Commander Champion said the protesters were ‘as a whole … well behaved’ over the weekend. Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

Commander Champion added that there were “potentially not” enough spaces to camp in the ACT, “depending on how many want to stay”.

“For those who want to stay in Canberra or near Canberra, they just have to seek out spots, and there’s a lot of [websites] you can go on to actually find those available,” she said.

Commander Champion said the protesters were “as a whole … well behaved” over the weekend.

“There are some people there with really genuine concerns and they conducted themselves lawfully and that’s what we want from protesters,” she said.

“There were a few that did take up a lot of resources to manage them, and they’re the ones that we will continue to focus on.”