ROWDY PROTEST: A vocal group which caused anarchy at a Bendigo Council meeting announced their next stop will be Albury.
An anti-Islamic hate group responsible for causing division in Bendigo now has its sights set on Albury.
The group, known as the United Patriots Front, is led by Shermon Burgess who posted a video on the faction’s Facebook page saying Albury and Orange were their next targets.
In the video, he claimed many people were against mosque plans for Albury.
“We will be, after we sort out this Bendigo problem, coming to Albury,” he said.
“Now I’m really excited about this because one of my favourite lefties of all time, that’s it the quarter-pounder-smashing sumo wrestler himself Kieran Bennet, that’s his home town.
“I will really enjoy marching into his territory and claiming it as my own.”
He finishes the video with a wink and a smile.
Members of the Islamic Society of Albury Wodonga have been watching the group’s posts and have labelled its members “loners”.
The society’s president, Yakub Mohammed, said people on the Border should tell them to stay away.
“A lot of their followers are lonely people who just want to belong,” he said.
“From what they have been writing, it strikes me a lot of them don’t care what the topic is, they just want to stir things up.
“They probably know nothing about Islam.
“The people in that group think ‘these people are going to take over, kick us out and bomb the whole place’, they are obsessed with it and try and put it into innocent people’s heads and brainwash them.”
The so-called patriots showed up to a council meeting in Bendigo last week to protest against the approval of a mosque.
Bendigo’s mayor Peter Cox had to be escorted by police from the meeting.
Albury mayor Kevin Mack said the Albury community had been accepting of plans to build a mosque to replace the run-down building used by the Islamic Society on Wagga Road.
“You're going to get those trouble makers wherever you go, they have a right to free speech,” Cr Mack said.
“I hope our community doesn't get sucked into other peoples issues.”