Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post Reply
User avatar
pErvinalia
On the good stuff
Posts: 59295
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:08 pm
About me: Spelling 'were' 'where'
Location: dystopia
Contact:

Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by pErvinalia » Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:05 am

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54007824
Covid: Australian anti-lockdown suspect's arrest draws controversy
The arrest of a woman in Australia for promoting an anti-lockdown protest online has drawn criticism, after video of the incident went viral.
Footage shows officers handcuffing pregnant woman Zoe-Lee Buhler, 28, in her home in Victoria on Wednesday in front of her partner and children.
She starts crying during the arrest, telling police: "I didn't realise I was doing anything wrong."
Authorities have defended the officers, saying they acted appropriately.
Victoria has been in lockdown since July to curb a coronavirus outbreak that has fuelled Australia's second wave.
Authorities have imposed stay-at-home rules and a curfew in Melbourne, the state capital. The lockdown has closed many businesses and banned gatherings around the state.
Many people support the measures but others oppose them, and they have targeted by a fringe anti-lockdown movement.
Last week Victoria Police warned it would arrest people for organising protests in breach of the ban on gatherings.
What happened?
The video - which was live-streamed on Facebook and has been viewed over two million times - shows Ms Buhler and her partner speaking to police in their home in the city of Ballarat. The Victoria Police officers are seen with a warrant.
When asked what the arrest is about, one officer says: "It's in relation to a Facebook post, in relation to a lockdown protest you put on just that day."
Ms Buhler, who is wearing pyjamas, then offers to delete her post.
"My two kids are here - I have an ultrasound in an hour," she says. "This is ridiculous... I didn't realise I was doing anything wrong."
But the officers respond by telling her she has been charged with "incitement" over a planned protest in Ballarat on Saturday. The event is part of wider anti-lockdown rallies.
Man, not sure where I fall on this one. I lean towards this being authoritarian and pretty disturbing, but I do understand why the authorities don't want large social gatherings. She did include in her Facebook post to wear a mask and practice social distancing, so the threat level of this might have been quite low. It's also in country Victoria which is under a lower level of restrictions than Melbourne.

What do you think? Authoritarian, or good public policy?
Sent from my penis using wankertalk.
"The Western world is fucking awesome because of mostly white men" - DaveDodo007.
"Socialized medicine is just exactly as morally defensible as gassing and cooking Jews" - Seth. Yes, he really did say that..
"Seth you are a boon to this community" - Cunt.
"I am seriously thinking of going on a spree killing" - Svartalf.

User avatar
Brian Peacock
Tipping cows since 1946
Posts: 37953
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:44 am
About me: Ablate me:
Location: Location: Location:
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Brian Peacock » Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:20 am

At least they didn't shoot her in the back.
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
Details on how to do that can be found here.

.

"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."

Frank Zappa

"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
.

User avatar
Tero
Just saying
Posts: 47193
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2010 9:50 pm
About me: 15-32-25
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Tero » Thu Sep 03, 2020 10:51 am

Ask Trump to pardon her. He can do it. He has unlimited power. He's just choosing to meddle in Kenosha.
https://esapolitics.blogspot.com
http://esabirdsne.blogspot.com/
Said Peter...what you're requesting just isn't my bag
Said Daemon, who's sorry too, but y'see we didn't have no choice
And our hands they are many and we'd be of one voice
We've come all the way from Wigan to get up and state
Our case for survival before it's too late

Turn stone to bread, said Daemon Duncetan
Turn stone to bread right away...

User avatar
Hermit
Posts: 25806
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:44 am
About me: Cantankerous grump
Location: Ignore lithpt
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Hermit » Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:10 am

It's unfortunate. I doubt the police officers have the authority to ignore the arrest warrant on grounds of what Zoe-Lee Buhler told them. Police are law enforcers, not judges.

The Victorian Premier's comment, "Now is not the time to protest about anything" is way over the top. A more nuanced one would have been preferable, and some backpedalling spot-on.
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops. - Stephen J. Gould

User avatar
laklak
Posts: 20981
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:07 pm
About me: My preferred pronoun is "Massah"
Location: Tannhauser Gate
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by laklak » Thu Sep 03, 2020 6:58 pm

Fuck the Fascist Cunts! Burn the fucking city DOWN, motherfuckers!!!!!!
Yeah well that's just, like, your opinion, man.

User avatar
Svartalf
Offensive Grail Keeper
Posts: 40340
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm
Location: Paris France
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Svartalf » Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:07 pm

I'd say burn the fascist leaders' places, but honestly, burning the sheriff's office and the white house just might not be precisely right.
Embrace the Darkness, it needs a hug

PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping

User avatar
JimC
The sentimental bloke
Posts: 73014
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:58 am
About me: To be serious about gin requires years of dedicated research.
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by JimC » Thu Sep 03, 2020 8:56 pm

For me, it was a little over the top, especially the handcuffs. However, there is no doubt that there is a big potential for harm to the Victorian community via spreading covid if widespread protests by ill-informed idiots were to occur...
Nurse, where the fuck's my cardigan?
And my gin!

User avatar
Scot Dutchy
Posts: 19000
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 2:07 pm
About me: Dijkbeschermer
Location: 's-Gravenhage, Nederland
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Scot Dutchy » Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:38 pm

Is there no freedom speech any more in Australia?
"Wat is het een gezellig boel hier".

User avatar
Svartalf
Offensive Grail Keeper
Posts: 40340
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:42 pm
Location: Paris France
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Svartalf » Fri Sep 04, 2020 2:53 pm

what do you expect in a penal colony?
Embrace the Darkness, it needs a hug

PC stands for "Patronizing Cocksucker" Randy Ping

User avatar
JimC
The sentimental bloke
Posts: 73014
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:58 am
About me: To be serious about gin requires years of dedicated research.
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by JimC » Fri Sep 04, 2020 8:51 pm

Scot Dutchy wrote:
Fri Sep 04, 2020 1:38 pm
Is there no freedom speech any more in Australia?
If you expressed vehement arguments against current government policies and/or produced a torrent of abuse against government leaders in Oz, no action would be taken. However, if you urge others to do illegal acts, that is incitement, and you can expect an arrest. As I said earlier, the method of the arrest was OTT, but it was legal...
Nurse, where the fuck's my cardigan?
And my gin!

User avatar
Brian Peacock
Tipping cows since 1946
Posts: 37953
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:44 am
About me: Ablate me:
Location: Location: Location:
Contact:

Re: Woman arrested in Australia for organising a Covid protest

Post by Brian Peacock » Sun Jan 24, 2021 7:04 am

Everything the cops do over here is legal now police and security services can officially break the law to fight crime.
Rationalia relies on voluntary donations. There is no obligation of course, but if you value this place and want to see it continue please consider making a small donation towards the forum's running costs.
Details on how to do that can be found here.

.

"It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice.
There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia."

Frank Zappa

"This is how humanity ends; bickering over the irrelevant."
Clinton Huxley » 21 Jun 2012 » 14:10:36 GMT
.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests