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Protester
rushes stage as activists clash with police at far-right Lauren
Southern’s Melbourne event
A
PROTESTER rushed the stage and was bundled off by security at
controversial commentator Lauren Southern’s Melbourne talk.
21
July, 2018
A
PROTESTER screaming “I love Muslims!” rushed the stage at
far-right commentator Lauren Southern’s Melbourne event and was
bundled off by security.
Several
activists had to be removed from the room as others clashed with riot
police outside, who used pepper spray on the crowd.
The
stage invader, identified by New Corp as Nita Habibi, was dragged out
of the room to cheers from Ms Southern’s fans.
“I
love free speech,” Ms Habibi told The Australian following what has
been described as a “thwarted attack” on Southern by the Daily
Wire.
“I
wanted to interrupt the thing. I think it’s really dangerous what’s
happening. Hate speech should be interrupted.”
Ms
Southern’s speech was interrupted by protesters with banners
chanting “racism off our streets”, according to the
Whistleblowers, Activists and Citizens Alliance group.
“Very
fun,” says Ms Southern in video footage from the event, as she
waves goodbye to the demonstrators from the podium. “All right, is
that all? Any more ticket sales from antifa?”
She
told the Daily Wire: “Hundreds of protestors and some screaming
lady is not going to stop me and patriotic Australians speaking the
truth.”
Antifa ran and tried to dive on top of Lauren during her speech. Security stopped it at the last second. Shocking scenes
4 protestors so far at @Lauren_Southern speech. Looks like Australia is heading down the same path as the U.K.
More
than 100 protesters, who say the Canadian is racist and Islamaphobic,
blocked buses and closed off a street at the Friday night.
The
demonstrators chanted “when the fascists are in town, shut it down,
shut it down” as people were directed on to buses at Broadmeadows
train station, where ticketholders had been told to gather before
being transported to a secret venue.
At
one point, they encircled a bus, slapping the vehicle and shouting,
“Surround the Nazi bus,” while a man inside mooned them.
Warning:
Footage in tweets below may contain offensive language
Police have cordoned off Hume hwy as left and right wing clashes spill onto the road @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/nS0PDRAGy0
Bus carrying ticket holders attempted to reverse away from charging protestors who surrounded the bus pic.twitter.com/ChDCFYDBJu
The
Hume Highway was also closed after the protesters gathered at La
Mirage Reception and Convention Centre in Somerton, the venue for her
talk, and spilled on to the road.
Officers
tried to subdue the crowd with pepper spray as they clashed with
mounted and riot police.
Right-wing
activist Neil Erikson filmed protesters before being hauled away from
police. He and two other men are charged with affray and riot over an
incident outside an event by controversial commentator Milo
Yiannopoulos last year.
Victoria
Police is reportedly charging the Canadian provocateur than $67,000
for their presence at the even
“It
is disappointing that we had to use significant resources to mediate
between two groups with opposing views,” said Commander Tim Hansen.
“Their
actions put their lives, the lives of the public and the lives of
police officers at risk.”
Ms
Southern was expected to cause trouble, with the alt-right YouTube
star making headlines since she touched down in Australia. The
23-year-old arrived in Brisbane wearing an “It’s okay to be
white” T-shirt, after warning news.com.au she would cause “chaos”
with her notorious brand of “free speech”.
The
right-winger earlier hit the streets of Melbourne to stir up
controversy, although her efforts to generate outrage ahead of her
talk tonight appear to have fallen flat.
Even
those who bought tickets to the first event of her Australian tour
were given minimal detail about where the talk is.
In
a message to participants, organisers of the event thanked people for
their understanding and patience about the secrecy around the
location.
“The
fierce opposition to this event by the extreme left elements of
Melbourne has been breathtaking in their determination to make it as
difficult as possible for us to bring this tour here,” the message
said.
“We’ve
decided to keep the venue secret as long as possible by asking you to
make your way to a train station in the general vicinity, from where
we are busing people to the final venue.”
Participants
paid between $79 and $749 to attend.
Security
around Ms Southern’s talk is reportedly costing organisers
thousands with Victoria Police reportedly sending them a $68,000 bill
to pay for resources to be used at her show.
An
email from Victoria Police quotes the total cost as $230,000 but said
police would only charge her $67,842.50, News Corp Australia
reported.
“As
per the Victoria Police (fees and charges) Regulations 2014, Victoria
Police has the right to charge any event organiser for the use of
police resources,” a spokesman told AAP.
After
violent activists turned Melbourne streets into a war zone during a
talk by right-wing speaker Milo Yiannopoulos six months ago, he was
also sent a $50,000 bill to cover the heavy police presence.
The
Canadian commentator, who is touring with her fellow countryman
Stefan Molyneux, is expected to share her controversial views on
multiculturalism, Islam and feminism.
The
Campaign Against Racism and Fascism has organised a protest in
Melbourne to “show fascistic ideas will always lose in Melbourne”
against Ms Southern’s show. It called her “a notorious racist and
Islamophobe”.
On
Saturday she appeared on Sky News, making it clear that she was
“happy to be white”.
“If
I were black I could say I’m proud, if I were Asian I could say I’m
proud, if I were any other ethnicity I could say I’m proud because
that’s how our culture is, but if I’m white and I say I’m proud
the media will go nuts,” she said.
Ms
Southern, who previously worked for Canadian website Rebel Media, was
barred from entering the UK earlier this year for distributing
“racist” flyers reading “Allah is a Gay God” and “Allah is
trans” outside a restaurant in the English town of Luton.
Thank you for your articles that you have shared with us. Hopefully you can give the article a good benefit to us. Security Guards
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