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10th May 2020

10 people arrested at anti-lockdown, anti-vaxx and anti-5G protest Melbourne

Alan Loughnane

Melbourne

A police officer was also injured during the protest.

Ten people have been arrested and a police officer has been injured during an anti-lockdown, anti- vaccinations and reportedly an anti-5G demonstration in Melbourne.

A police officer was taken to hospital for what is believed to be a rib injury, Victoria Police said in a statement.

The protests took place outside the parliament building in Melbourne.

Many Australian states have begun the process of easing their restrictions, but following a recent cluster of cases in Melbourne, Victoria has delayed relaxing its measures.

Demonstrators carried signs calling for people to “fight for your freedom and rights” while chants were also directed at Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

In a statement, Victoria Police said it “respects the public’s right to protest” but said the protests were in direct contravention of the chief health officer’s current directives.

Police said that most of the arrests were made for failure to abide by the CMO’s directions, such as observing social distancing.

“Three of the offenders will also be charged with assaulting a police officer, and another offender will be charged with discharging a missile after allegedly throwing a bottle at police,” the statement said.

Fines of $1,652 apply to anyone breaching the rules.

“Police are continuing to investigate the events of today in order to identify other people who were in attendance,” the statement continued.

“Once individuals are identified we will be issuing them with fines.”

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