Six people were arrested by police in Sydney’s Domain this morning, just minutes before a Black Lives Matter protest was slated to kick off.
NSW Police state the protesters were pinged for for violating the state’s public health order, which currently prohibits outside gatherings of more than 20 people.
Three men and two women, aged between 22 and 50, were handed $1000 Penalty Infringement Notices.
Another 25-year-old woman was arrested and fined for using offensive language.
Footage from the park, shared by protest organisers, showed uniformed police officers leading peaceful demonstrators away from the scene just before 12pm.
ABC reports protest organiser Paddy Gibson was temporarily detained in the back of a police van.
NSW Police officers told the remaining demonstrators to disperse from the scene, and organisers urged supporters to no longer meet at The Domain.
“Please share spread the word the rally is OVER,” organisers said on Facebook. “The struggle for justice will continue.”
Protest organisers yesterday said the event would go ahead despite the group’s failure to overturn a Supreme Court ban.
The Supreme Court sided with NSW Police over the weekend, ruling the rally posed a risk to public health considering the state’s rising coronavirus case numbers.
Earlier, organisers urged attendees to observe social distancing, wear masks, and stay home if they felt unwell.
The protest was organised to draw attention to the 2015 death of Dunghutti man David Dungay Jr.
Dungay Jr, 26, died in Long Bay jail hospital after being restrained by several guards.
Advocates are pushing for those guards to face charges relating to his death.
