Coronavirus: Anti-virus conspiracy theorist James Bartolo arrested

Melbourne resident James Bartolo live-streamed his dramatic arrest, saying he was on the toilet when police tackled him.

Victoria Police have raided the home of a prominent anti-coronavirus conspiracy theorist and charged him with incitement ahead of a planned protest in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday.

James Bartolo, 27, shared footage online of his dramatic arrest, saying he had been on the toilet when police smashed open the door and tackled him to the ground.

The former bodybuilder runs conspiracy website “The Conscious Truth Network” and is the fifth Victorian arrested this week over plans for an illegal “Freedom Day” rally on Saturday.

Police issued a statement saying they had executed a search warrant in the outer northwest Melbourne suburb of Taylors Hill on Friday morning “following an ongoing investigation into the organisation and encouragement of protest activity in the CBD this Saturday”.

James Bartolo live streamed his dramatic arrest.

“As a result of the search warrant, police seized several devices including a mobile phone and laptops, as well as five samurai swords,” a police spokeswoman said.

“A 27-year-old male who was arrested at the address has been charged with incitement, possession of prohibited weapons and two counts of resisting police.

“He has been bailed to appear at Sunshine Magistrates Court on 5 May 2021.”

If found guilty, Mr Bartolo faces a maximum penalty of a $20,000 fine.

He told his social media followers he was “all good” following the arrest.

“Woke up this morning, jumped on the dunny, heard some knocks on the door,” he said.

“It was all the cops, they broke down the door, arrested me, they took computers, laptops (and my) phone.

“It is a bit of a pain in the ass. They stole my shit. Whatever. I’m fine.”

Mr Bartolo said he was not discouraging people from attending tomorrow’s rally.

“It is a trap, duh,” he said.

“It is the worst possible thing to do. It is a set up from the get go. It is all just terrible. Don’t go to that one. What is going to happen, Dan Andrews will blame the protest for the lockdown extension. Don’t go to the protest.”