Coronavirus Australia: Anti-lockdown protesters ‘bats**t crazy’

A senior Victoria Police officer says “tinfoil hat-wearing brigade” are using the state’s lockdown to serve their own “ridiculous notions”.

Friday marks the fifth day of anti-lockdown protests in Dandenong with another planned in the CBD in September. Picture: Jason Edwards

A senior Victoria Police officer says those planning to attend an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne may “ironically” make it last longer by risking further spread of COVID-19.

The protest is planned in the CBD on Saturday, September 5.

“Organising and participating in this proposed protest would be a serious and blatant breach of the chief health officer directions and it jeopardises the health of the entire community,” North West Metro Region Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said on Friday afternoon.

“Participating in this protest also carries with it a serious risk that the very hard work of the vast majority of Victorians who have been complying by and large with these restrictions, will be undone by a small and selfish minority of foolish people who would wilfully further expose us to the deadly virus which has already tragically taken the lives of just under 500 Victorians.

“It would not only be ironic but also a tragedy that those who are advocating for a premature end to stage four restrictions, by their selfish conduct, risk the further spread of the virus.”

He said the activity “has the potential to send us backwards” and people need to stay at home.

Assistant Commissioner Cornelius said they had pleaded with organisers to postpone the protest until another date, but “these people have been saying ‘stuff you’ Victoria Police, stuff you the people of Victoria, we are going to protest’.”

He said they are prepared to take further action in the next week to put a stop to the unlawful event, monitoring online actions “in plain sight”, with hundreds of officers dedicated to the cause.

A 76-year-old man was arrested in Windsor this morning and has been charged with the indictable offence of incitement after allegedly inciting others to breach the CHO directions. He has since been granted bail.

“There are any number of groups out there, and if you just did a Google search on 5G, anti-vaxxers, anti-mask, look – the tinfoil hat-wearing brigade are alive and well out there in our community,” he said.

“And they‘re taking every opportunity to leverage the current situation to serve their own ridiculous notions about so-called sovereign citizens, about constitutional issues and about how 5G is going to kill your grandkids.

“I mean, it‘s just crazy, it’s bats**t crazy nonsense.”

He also addressed the protests in Dandenong that have lasted five nights resulting in a number of arrests and “numerous” fines.

“For goodness sake, by all means, leave your home with no more than one other person for the purposes of exercise but don‘t try and dress that up, when it actual fact the real reason that you are leaving home is that so you can wander down the street with a bunch of other boofheads actually engaging in protest.

“We‘re not idiots and Victorians are not idiots. Just stop it and stay at home and help stop the spread.”