A violent scuffle broke out in Melbourne on Friday, November 24, between protesters at an immigration rally and Neil Erikson, a member of the far-right Party for Freedom, after Erikson snatched a microphone from a speaker.
In footage published to his Facebook page, Erikson snatches a microphone of a person speaking and yells “they’re rapists” before others attempted to stop him, forcing police to break up the scuffle. Later, police question those involved.
The incident occurred during a rally held to protest the Australian government’s ongoing offshore processing policy for refugees, and followed the forced relocation of people from the Manus Island detention center.
According to The Age, about 100 police officers surrounded the protest, which was organised by the Refugee Action Collective. Credit: Neil Erikson via Storyful
