Rent-a-crowd face off with rent-a-cop

VICTORIA police and Antifa have been caught running provocations against Melbourne Freedom Day demonstrators.

In the first event, an unbelievably clear and obvious action caught on video, a young man with black curly hair casually walks to the side of the police contingent and appears to signal “move” while genuine protester William Twigg of Melbourne stirs the crowd on with a megaphone chant of “All jobs are essential”.

 

 

Several other people also appear to be involved in the well-planned fracas, swinging punches that don’t hit their mark. And it was all caught from above on police or TV chopper footage, that later ended up in evening news bulletins.
After that event when the protest moved towards the city at the Princes Bridge later in the day several people wearing Antifa gear attacked the police on the front line. The attacker attracted some online hatred after he hit and poked horses with a long pole carrying a “Resist” flag.

Antifa have previously been active in Melbourne and are generally hated because they wear balaclavas, carry weapons and aggressively decry everyone not with them as “racists” and “Nazis”. They are allied with Black Lives Matters in the US.
Their appearance at the protest has done the cause no good and was probably carried out for that very purpose. Both events were caught on overhead cameras and shared among the TV networks, who of course negatively seized upon “the violence breaking out” among anti-lockdown protesters.

Despite the provocation, organisers are still trying to identify the Antifa attacker, and if he is seen again at the protests, he will be handed over to police.
“While it was clear there were pockets of protesters and police who were looking for a fight, the vast majority of police and protesters were peaceful, respectful, and thoroughly professional,” and organizer reported.

In the video you’ll see a young man with black curly hair who has been standing with his back to the video and then turns around, faces the police contingent, turns again and moves slightly in front of them to the side. He momentarily takes an “at ease” stance, facing the protesters with his hands clasped in front. He then raises both hands in unison to signal “move” and the cops to rush the protesters, creating a melee. It all takes place within about 30 seconds – which is plenty of time for a TV news clip – as the red-badged police contingent charges into the megaphone man and several others.

Despite the incidents and 96 fines and 16 arrests, protest organisers on Telegram called it “the biggest and most successful anti-lockdown protest by far” saying they can only build from here.
The increasingly well-organised protest group had run a series of banner campaigns around Melbourne, including a digital billboard truck which made the news.

A giant freeway banner was also erected on an abandoned billboard.
“Our press release was used in various way to report on the upcoming event. These proved to be extremely effective techniques – we were able to create a real stir around the date and that attracted a lot of people from all walks of life to come down that never have before. Another positive factor was (Assistant Police Commissioner) Luke Cornelius’ comments on the lawful nature of protesting, which encouraged many to be brave and show up with a reduced risk of negative consequences.

“As restrictions ease further, these consequences will fall away with them too, giving us the ability to grow exponentially and increase the pressure to prevent further lockdowns, restore the economy, and sack Daniel Andrews.”