LOUISE AYLING
DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
7 August 2020
A rambling ‘sovereign citizen’ has been taken down by no-nonsense cops for refusing to wear a face mask or provide his ID and slapped with a $1,652 fine.
The Melbourne man filmed himself arguing with officers inside a 7-Eleven service station in Sunshine just before the 8pm curfew on Tuesday night.
After repeatedly ignoring orders and ranting about his rights, the video was abruptly cut short when a policeman grabbed his phone and placed him under arrest.
The man, who posts bizarre conspiracy theories online about 5G ‘genocide’, told the officers he was filming them ‘for evidence’ when he walked into the store with his brother.
He was asked why he wasn’t wearing a face mask and told police he had a ‘medical exemption’, but refused to elaborate or provide evidence he was exempt.
‘I don’t need to provide it to you. I don’t have to provide any ID either. I haven’t committed a crime. I’m free to go,’ he said.
But the officers stopped him as he tried to walk away, asking him again to explain why he was not wearing a mask in public.
‘We’re asking you what is your medical exemption. You do have to provide that to me,’ one officer said.
The policeman repeatedly asked him to provide his identification, but the man wouldn’t budge, this time demanding the officer hand over his orders in writing.
‘Show me the law, piece of paperwork that shows exactly what you’re trying to state,’ the man continued.
‘I told you I’ve got a medical exemption. We have both got asthma. We are free to go.’
Police tell him to show evidence he is an asthmatic, but he refuses.
Officers calmly tell refusing to obey their directions is against the law.
‘You have committed a crime,’ the officer says.
‘One is you’re not showing your identification and the second is you’re not wearing a mask.’
At this point the police have had enough as the man continued with his ‘sovereign citizen’ jargon.
‘Stop talking over me. Be quiet. You want to be arrested? Put your phone away, you’re under arrest,’ the officer says as the video cut out.
Footage of the arrest was shared alongside an image of the $1,652 penalty notice the man received for breaching COVID-19 health orders.
The man’s Facebook page is littered with anti-5G propaganda videos, as well as likening wearing a face mask to ‘slavery’.
He has also shared bizarre posts from ‘The Conscious Truth Network’ group run by James Bartolo which offers to help followers ‘unplug from the matrix.’
One video advises viewers they have been ‘deceived by the government’ through a ‘fraudulent’ legal system which should be challenged by citizens.
He suggests road tolls, speeding fines, the ATO and even Vicroads are all ‘illegal and unlawful.’
Another video promotes an anti-vaccine message which suggests the government will be using inoculation to brainwash citizens.
So called ‘sovereign citizens’ are a loosely coordinated group who have provoked outrage with their stunts making a mockery of police checkpoints and mandatory mask laws.
Others have called masks the ‘mark of the beast’, bragged about talking their way past police blockades, and threatened officers checking they were self-isolating.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent slammed the movement in a strongly-worded statement this week.
‘Thankfully this selfish behaviour is an exception and the vast majority of people are doing the right thing to protect the health and safety of our community,’ he said.
‘However, the behaviour of those who blatantly choose to disregard the rules on the insistence their human rights being breached is alarming.
‘Worse yet, it seems these people are more interested in notoriety and getting likes on social media than the health and wellbeing of their fellow Victorians.
‘My message to anyone planning to break the rules is simple: No one has a human right to infect other people and place the entire Victoria community at risk.
‘In fact, this type of behaviour is childish and is completely unacceptable when police are working incredibly hard to keep the community safe.
Top cop’s ruthless message to ‘sovereign citizens’ who believe they don’t need to provide their name and licence to police – after Eve Black became the face of the bizarre movement
An increasing number of Australians are refusing to provide their information to cops carrying out coronavirus spot checks, according to Victorian Police Commissioner Shane Patton.
Mr Patton slammed Victorians who think they are above the law and refer to themselves as ‘sovereign citizens’.
‘In the last week, we’ve seen a trend, an emergence of groups of people … small groups – but nonetheless concerning groups – who classify themselves as sovereign citizens, whatever that might mean. People who don’t think the law applies to them,’ he said on Tuesday.
‘We’ve seen them at checkpoints baiting police, not providing a name and address.
‘On at least four occasions in the last week, we’ve had to smash the windows of cars and pull people out to provide details because they weren’t adhering to the Chief Health Officer guidelines, they weren’t providing their name and address.’
His choice words come nearly a week after coronavirus conspiracy theorist Eve Black was dramatically arrested while refusing to give police her details at a checkpoint.
Black gloated in a Facebook video about making it through a Melbourne COVID-19 roadblock without telling officers where she was going.
Black filmed and uploaded to Facebook her first, successful, attempt at gaming the system on July 23.
When the officer asked her where she was headed and why she was attempting to leave, Black simply told him she didn’t need to share that information.
The officer eventually waved her through as she sped off laughing and celebrating.
After that video went viral, the 28-year-old allegedly tried the same trick again in the inner-city suburb of Carlton last week but was far less successful.
‘She was asked to provide her name and address which she refused to do. Police then directed her to produce her driver’s licence and explain her reason for travel, which she also refused to comply with,’ Victoria Police said.
‘This led to police arresting her. During the arrest, police were forced to break the woman’s car window as she refused to speak to them, wind down her window, or step out of the vehicle.’
From this week, infected Victorians caught breaching isolation for a second time will be slapped with a $4957 on-the-spot fine – the highest police can issue.
In instances of repeat breaches, the person could be taken to court where the maximum penalty is $20,000.
‘We don’t want it to come to that. We want people to be where they are supposed to be. Because that is how we will all get past this,’ Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Those who are supposed to be self-isolating are also no longer allowed to exercise outside their homes, bringing Victoria in line with other states.
Australian Defence Force personnel and health officials conducted 3000 doorknocks of people who were supposed to be self-isolating and found more than 800 people were not home.
An additional 500 ADF personnel, 300 health staff and 250 police officers will be brought in for ‘random and repeated doorknocks’ at the home of every positive case.
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