A police officer has been hit by a rock and two protesters have been arrested for ‘discharging a missile’ during violent clashes outside Milo Yiannopoulos’ Melbourne event.
The mayhem unfolded outside the Melbourne Pavilion in inner-city Kensington on Monday night, with weapon-wielding protesters brawling in the streets.
Scores of protesters from left-aligned Campaign Against Racism and Fascism and two right-wing groups, Reclaim Australia and the True Blue Crew, rallied with a heavy police presence attempting to maintain order.
Convicted stalker and racial vilifier Neil Erikson and fellow right-wing activist Avi Yemeni were among the crowd.
A police officer has been hit by a rock and two protesters have been arrested for ‘discharging a missile’ during violent clashes outside Milo Yiannopoulos’ Melbourne event. A left-wing protester is seen with facial injuries after a violent scuffle
The mayhem unfolded outside the Melbourne Pavilion in inner-city Kensington on Monday night
A protester throws a street sign towards Police officers during a demonstration outside Milo Yiannopoulos’s sold out show at the Melbourne Pavilion
A Campaign Against Racism and Fascism supporter and a Yiannopoulos supporter are pepper sprayed by police
Dozens of officers worked to keep the groups separated, but still had to use pepper spray.
Protesters could be heard chanting ‘Milo is a w**ker’ before the clash turned physical.
Yiannopoulos said spoke of the ugly scenes on Tuesday morning.
‘There was a lot of kerfuffle. It was not as the newspapers are reporting it, a clash between far left and far right,’ he told Alan Jones on 2GB Radio.
‘It was the left showing up, being violent to stop people’s speech. It suggests all kinds of things about Australia as a country. It doesn’t speak highly of the country.’
A Campaign Against Racism and Fascism supporter is held by police during the demonstration
Scores of protesters from left-aligned Campaign Against Racism and Fascism and two right-wing groups, Reclaim Australia and the True Blue Crew, rallied with a heavy police presence
A Campaign Against Racism and Fascism supporter receives aid after being pepper sprayed
Protesters could be heard chanting ‘Milo is a w**ker’ before the clash turned physical
Extra security measures are expected to be in place when Yiannopoulos visits Parliament House in Canberra
Australian commentator Andrew Bolt, who was MC at the Melbourne event, described the protests as a scandal.
Extra security measures are expected to be in place when Yiannopoulos visits Parliament House in Canberra.
The self-described ‘one-man wrecking crew’ and ‘internet supervillian’ will visit the nation’s capital on Tuesday at the invitation of Liberal Democrat Senator David Leyonhjelm.
The Australian Greens had unsuccessfully attempted to have him banned from the building.
Senator Leyonhjelm flagged security arrangements are likely to be beefed up for the visit.
‘I wouldn’t call myself a disciple of him by any means,’ Senator Leyonhjelm told AAP, adding he didn’t agree with all his controversial views.
Police arrest two protesters during a demonstration outside Milo Yiannopoulos’s sold out show
Left-wing protesters were stationed in Kensington, Melbourne’s north-west, on Monday afternoon ahead of the right-wing firebrand’s speech
Police used capsicum spray to subdue some of the more violent demonstrators
Protesters could be heard chanting ‘Milo is a w**ker’ before the clash turned physical and police used capsicum spray to subdue protesters
Police officers in riot gear are seen dragging protesters away from the scene in an effort to control the demonstration
He expects Yiannopoulos to embark on an ‘outrage campaign’ to stir up the politically correct.
‘I’m expecting to be amused more than anything,’ Senator Leyonhjelm said.
Yiannopoulos defended his right to free speech, saying his aim is to entertain, challenge and educate.
‘I may not be to your taste and that’s OK, don’t send your kids to my shows, but I am to plenty of peoples’ tastes,’ he told Sky News.
Dozens of police officers were forced to intervene and drag violent protesters away from the scene
People are seen running from police officers who used pepper spray to control the demonstration
‘What they leave with… isn’t ”he’s so rude and tells fat jokes”… what they leave with is ”I never even considered that”.’
Yiannopoulos says he ‘blows open the fire doors’ in a way that is crass but gains attention.
Yiannopoulos’s speeches on university campuses in the US have sparked violent protests, and he was banned from Twitter last year amid a barrage of racist abuse directed at Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones.
The British-born, US-based commentator lost a book deal after a video emerged in February in which he appeared to suggest it was OK for older men to sleep with young teenage boys.
Demonstrators are seen running in the opposite direction of police officers who used pepper spray to control the violent clash
Local residents confront Protesters in Kensington, where Mr Yiannopolous was due to speak
Local residents in Kensington descended on the busy street to watch on
The north-west Melbourne street was packed, with local residents joining the crowds late on Monday
Mr Yiannopoulos’ first event is due to kick off at 6.30pm in Kensington, with another one scheduled to start immediately after
Milo Yiannopoulos was pictured in a fur coat in Perth this week, despite the 34C heat