Melbourne Shuts Down Public Transport To Quash Protests — Violent Clashes With Police FollowJack Kerley
Contributor
September 19, 2021 11:23 AM ET
The Australian state government of Victoria and the Victoria Police shut down Melbourne center and public transportation Saturday in an effort to quash the planned “Freedom Rally,” a protest against COVID-19 restrictions.
Authorities announced in a press conference Wednesday that they were strongly considering shutting down Melbourne’s public transport ahead of planned protests against the Labor government’s COVID-19 restrictions. “We’ll be doing everything we can to prevent people attending,” Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton said on radio station 3AW, citing violence that had occurred at the Aug. 21 “Freedom Rally” protest.
https://twitter.com/jodilee_7/status/1438014032531705856Despite efforts from police, protests began at Richmond Town Hall on the corner of Church Street and Bridge Road in Melbourne. The crowd chanted, “You serve us” and “shame on you,” among other slogans, according to footage posted on Twitter.
With hands on their batons, police officers began herding the protesters into a street where they could employ a tactic called ‘”kettling,” video shows. However, protesters linked arms and broke police lines, similar to scenes from previous protests throughout Australia, video shows.
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