Coronavirus: Melbourne lockdown protest is crazy, says top cop Luke Cornelius

Victoria Police assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius says a planned anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne is ‘batshit crazy nonsense’.

Victoria Police assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius. Picture: AAP

Victoria Police assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius says a planned anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne’s CBD next weekend is “batshit crazy nonsense”.

Mr Cornelius said one of the protest organisers, a 76-year-old man from inner-city Windsor, had already been charged with ­incitement, and warned the “small and selfish minority of foolish people” to cancel the protest or risk certain arrest.

“The tinfoil-hat-wearing brigade are alive and well out there in our community,” Mr Cornelius said.

“They are 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.

“It is batshit crazy nonsense. People need to wake up to ­themselves.”

Mr Cornelius said the planned gathering “has the potential to send us backwards” in terms of controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Victoria.

“Why on earth would we be wanting to see an activity, a protest, undertaken which would ­exacerbate this risk? Particularly at a point in time where in the past couple of weeks we have been able to turn this around,” he said.

“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 will be undone by a small and selfish minority of foolish people.

“We will be arresting them. Their feet won’t touch the ground.”