Gun seized from Reclaim Australia-bound protester prompts safety concerns amongst police
Updated
Police are concerned about the growing threat to their safety at anti-Islam rallies after a gun was seized from a protester last weekend.
Officers in Sydney confiscated the weapon from a man about to travel from Sydney to Melbourne for a rally run by Reclaim Australia.
The group has promised to hold more protests in the future, and police have told AM the discovery of a gun is evidence of escalating violence at those events.
Yesterday Victorian Police Commissioner Graham Ashton told Melbourne's 3AW a gun was found on a bus carrying a group who were travelling from Sydney to Melbourne ahead of last Saturday's Reclaim Australia rally in Melbourne.
"There were three groups came down from Sydney," Mr Ashton said.
"New South Wales Police searched the bus of one of those groups, found a firearm, found I think a knife or something like that.
"Certainly found a firearm ... that firearm was seized and New South Wales Police have taken care of that."
AM understands the bus was carrying members of the hardline United Patriots Front (UPF).
UPF member Shermon Burgess posted a video online, responding to the news.
"This is how corrupt officials work with the media to destroy the patriot movement," Mr Burgess said in the video.
"All these lies coming out, all these fabricated lies."
New South Wales Police have since said the gun was not found on the bus.
In a statement, police said they stopped a 39-year-old man near Sydney's Central Station on Friday night and found the weapon when they searched his luggage.
They said the man was a licensed gun holder and was carrying the weapon securely without any ammunition.
Police seized the gun anyway, but released the man.
Along with a number of online videos, the United Patriots Front has released a written statement.
"He had no ammunition and advised he was going to a shooting range in Melbourne," the statement said.
"This man was not a UPF member and did not march with UPF, he was a reclaim organiser.
"He did however travel on the bus and police did not advise the organisers as the man was stopped long before he got into Sydney."
Police lines were the only thing separating protesters and rival anti-racism groups at many of the 18 Reclaim Australia rallies held around the country on the weekend.
Police in Melbourne were forced to use capsicum spray on protesters as scuffles broke out.
A number of police expressed concern to AM about the discovery of a gun in the luggage of a protester.
One senior officer who did not wish to be named described it as the "next level" in an ongoing escalation in tactics.
He said if guns and knives become a regular feature at future events, officers would inevitably be injured in the course of keeping the peace.
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A Reclaim Australia protester was escorted away from the rally in Perth but no arrests have been made so far. (AAP: Sarah Motherwell)
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Protesters clash at Parliament House in Canberra. (ABC News: Jordan Hayne)
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Reclaim Australia marchers in Hobart at the last stop of their march, the University Rose Gardens. (ABC News: Gregor Salmon)
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The leader of the reclaim Australia march in Hobart, who went by the name of "Danny". (ABC News: Gregor Salmon)
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Pauline Hanson addresses the crowd at a Reclaim Australia Rally in Rockhampton. (ABC: Alyse Edwards)
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Protests in Perth have remained peaceful. (ABC: Briana Shepherd)
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Dawson MP George Christensen speaks at a Reclaim Australia rally in Mackay. (ABC: David Sparkes)
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Reclaim Australia protester throws a punch at anti-racism activist in Canberra after the rally. (ABC News)
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Reclaim Australia protesters attend a rally in Mackay. (ABC: David Sparkes)
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Anti-racism protester approaches and argues with Reclaim Australia demonstrators in Mackay. (ABC: David Sparkes)
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A protester walks through Martin Place in Sydney. (Instagram/@gkhz)
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An anti-racism demonstrator stands among Reclaim Australia protesters as she listens to Dawson MP George Christensen speak in Mackay. (ABC: David Sparkes)
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An anti-racism protester holds a sign directed at Dawson MP George Christensen, who spoke to Reclaim Australia demonstrators in Mackay. (ABC: David Sparkes)
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A reclaim Australia protester holds a cross at the Sydney rally. (ABC News: John Donegan)
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Supporter at Reclaim Australia rally at Rockhampton in central Queensland, where One Nation politician Pauline Hanson addressed the rally. (ABC News: Alyse Edwards)
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A Reclaim Australia protester in Sydney claimed he was assaulted by pro-immigration protesters. (ABC: John Donegan)
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Fiona Roach and Johanna Klein join a group of about 100 demonstrators, calling for support for Muslims and Indigenous Australians in Brisbane's CBD. Nearby a group of about 250 anti-Islam protesters were taking part in the Reclaim Australia rally in Brisbane. (ABC News: Emma Pollard)
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Mounted police at the Reclaim Australia rally in Sydney. (ABC News: John Donegan)
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A Reclaim Australia protester holds up sign at the Sydney rally. (ABC News: John Donegan)
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A dog draped in an Australian flag at a Reclaim Australia rally in Rockhampton (ABC News: Alyse Edwards)
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Politician Pauline Hanson with Reclaim Australia rally supporter in Rockhampton in central Queensland, after Ms Hanson addressed the crowd at the rally. (ABC News: Alyse Edwards)
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The Rise Up Australia Party's Daniel Nalliah addresses the Reclaim Australia rally. (ABC News: John Donegan)
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Heavy police presence in Martin Place with Reclaim Australia and No Room for Racism protests not yet in full swing. (ABC News: Nicholas Dole)
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Five people were arrested at the Reclaim Australia rallies in Sydney. (ABC: John Donegan)
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A large crowd gathers in Brisbane's CBD as anti-racist and anti-Muslim protests get underway. (ABC: Isabella Higgins)
Topics: race-relations, multiculturalism, islam, religion-and-beliefs, police, law-crime-and-justice, sydney-2000, australia, melbourne-3000
First posted
