A top NSW cop has wished a Black Lives Matter protester "best of luck at court" after he defiantly tore up his $1000 fine for attending today's Sydney rally.
A Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney has been busted up by police before it even began, with organiser Paddy Gibson being escorted into State Parliament by Greens MP Jenny Leong after he was arrested and fined.
Organisers of today’s BLM protest in the Domain vowed “the struggle for justice will continue”, after around 50 protesters were confronted by as many as 400 police. Six people were arrested – five of them were issued $1000 fines, while a 25-year-old woman copped a Criminal Infringement Notice for offensive language.
“As we said all along, we are not anti-the right to protest,” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mick Willing told reporters. “This is about public safety. At the end of the day, we are in the middle of a pandemic. The Supreme Court judge himself described the current situation in NSW as being on a knife’s edge.”
The rally was declared illegal after organisers yesterday lost an appeal against a court ruling on Sunday banning the gathering. One protester tore up his fine in front of reporters, vowing to take is “all the way to the Supreme Court”. “Well, best of luck to you at court,” Mr Willing said.