According to correspondence between senior New South Wales public servants, police planned to disperse the crowd at a Sydney protest against visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog if it exceeded 6,000 people. Several pro-Palestine protesters have been charged with public order offences after violent clashes between police and demonstrators on 9 February. The independent police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, is investigating alleged police brutality at the protest.
Several protesters have said they will launch civil claims against NSW police over the protest. NSW Premier Chris Minns has labelled pro-Palestine protest organisers 'a pack of communists' intent on having a confrontation with police. He also said police were put in an 'impossible situation' after protesters attempted to march at the protest.
I genuinely believe that a lot of people have attended those marches with none of those intentions in place.
A 42-year-old protester was arrested at 5am by eight tactical officers who smashed their door open, becoming the 26th person charged after the protest. The arrested protester was charged with hindering or resisting police, intimidating police without actual bodily harm, throwing a missile at police without actual bodily harm, and using indecent language. The arrested protester's lawyer said the police entered the home while the client was asleep and half-naked, and seized their phone requiring the passcode.
A policing accountability expert stated that the charges against the arrested protester do not match the level of policing used, suggesting it is a warning to protesters. Four Labor backbenchers attended the protest and have supported an independent review into police actions. Protest organisers have diverse political viewpoints, including Labor people, unionists, Greens, and conservatives, according to a Labor backbencher.
My dilemma is that those protests are organised by a pack of communists that are just intent on having a confrontation with police.