Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has unleashed a scathing tirade at Lidia Thorpe labelling the rogue Senator’s scuffle with police ‘a pathetic display’.
The Greens defector attempted to interrupt a Canberra rally by controversial ‘women’s rights’ activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull – who goes by the alias Posie Parker – and was pulled to the ground by AFP officers in a dramatic moment captured on video.
Senator Thorpe then crawled along the grass before joining a ‘pro-trans’ counter-protest group.
Mr Dutton said Senator Thorpe’s actions were ‘shameful’.
‘The Australian Federal Police should not have to waste their resources in dealing with stunts from Senator Thorpe,’ he said on Thursday.
‘It was a pathetic display and she should be embarrassed at her behaviour.’
Lidia Thorpe (pictured) has attempted to storm the podium during British trans critic Posie Parker’s speech for the Let Women Speak rally outside parliament house on Thursday
Peter Dutton (pictured in Parliament) has slammed Senator Thorpe’s actions calling them a ‘stunt’ and ‘pathetic’
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus also weighed in on the incident saying the footage showing Senator Thorpe refusing to be picked up by police before moving away on hands and knees was ‘concerning’.
‘I have sought urgent advice from the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police,’ Mr Dreyfus said.
Footage shows how Senator Thorpe was shoved away as she charged towards Ms Keen-Minshull, who was addressing about 30 people at the Let Women Speak rally outside Parliament House.
Senator Thorpe, who was draped in an Aboriginal flag, yelled before darting towards the platform before the police stopped her.
The independent ‘black sovereignty’ movement senator later claimed she was ‘pulverised’ by police and said Ms Keen-Minshull – who she referred to as ‘filth’ – should not be allowed to speak on Aboriginal land.
Ms Keen-Minshull has been touring Australia with rallies held in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart – sparking ferocious counter demonstrations by pro-LGBTQI activists.
The former Greens turned independent ‘black sovereignty’ movement senator was intercepted by police and forced to the ground
Pictured: Kellie-Jay Keen watching on as Lidia Thorpe is moved along
As the rain bore down on Canberra, hundreds of anti-Posie protesters flocked to Ms Keen-Minshull’s ‘pro women’ rally, separated on the lawns of Parliament House by two dozen police officers.
Attendees antagonised pro-trans demonstrators by holding signs which read ‘tomboys are not boys’, ‘protest the innocence of children’ and ‘libraries are for books, not perversion’.
On the other side, slogans included ‘bigots in the bin’, ‘f*** off Posie, f**k off’ and ‘you’ve got Nazis on your side’.
After Ms Thorpe’s attempted disruption of Keen-Minshull’s speech – reminiscent of her laying down in front of a float at Mardi Gras last month – the former Greens Senator blasted the decision to let the controversial speaker into the country.
‘We do not tolerate this kind of filth being on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, let alone the Nazi support that these people have,’ she said.
‘They are racist, they are homophobic, they are destroying people’s lives. This country should be ashamed that they even let people like this into this country.
Draped in an Aboriginal flag, Senator Thorpe made a beeline toward Ms Keen-Marshall, before she was intercepted by police and forced to the ground
The independent ‘black sovereignty’ movement senator later claimed she was ‘pulverised’ by police
Members and allies of Canberra’s LGBTQIA+ protest against British campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen
‘I went to tell her that they are not welcome here, and I got pulverised by the police by simply telling that person that they are not allowed to be here.
‘I’ve been assaulted by the police today as a sovereign Gunnai, Gunditjmara, DjabWurrung woman.
‘And the police need to answer for the assault but also this government needs to answer why these people are allowed into the country.’
The Australian Federal Police later issued a statement confirming ‘interactions with protesters will be reviewed’.
An unnamed incident – presumed to be the altercation with Senator Thorpe – has been referred to the AFP’s Professional Standards Command, the spokesperson said.
‘Given a matter is now under investigation, no further comments will be made.’
Senator Thorpe did not appear in the Senate’s Question Time on Thursday after the protest, nor did Senator Hanson.
Rain bore down on Canberra as Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull (pictured) spoke outside parliament house for the rally
Keen-Minshull was joined by One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts at the demonstration
More than 100 anti-trans protesters gathered at the rally holding signs that read ‘bigots in the bin’, ‘f*** off Posie f**k off’ and ‘you’ve got Nazis on your side’
Some of those gathered told Daily Mail Australia it was the first time they’d protested, spurred primarily by the ‘hateful’ rhetoric of Ms Keen-Minshull in her national tour.
Simon, 23, said he ‘couldn’t stand by knowing she’s in my city’ and was not deterred from demonstrating by pouring rain which was ‘a bit symbolic, I think’, he said.
In the background, those gathered around him chanted ‘f***k off’ and at one stage needing to be held back by police as they attempted to push forward.
On the other side of the lawn, pro-women protesters were jeering and dancing, taunting the crowd as Ms Keen-Minshull spoke about the ‘gender crisis’ occurring in Australia.
‘It’s the next lobotomy scandal except this time we’re doing it to children,’ she claimed.
Her voice was drowned out by the sound of musical instruments and jeers, but those gathered to support her clapped and cheered anyway as she vowed to never stop the fight for women’s rights.
‘We say the things we’re sometimes scared to say in our real lives without giving a s**t about what people say around us,’ she said.
‘I have to have a police bloody escort from the airport because I said women don’t have penises. It’s bloody revolting.’
One Nation senator Pauline Hanson is pictured giving a speech at the Let Women Speak rally
LIDIA THORPE’S PROTEST AGAINST POLICE AT SYDNEY’S MARDI GRAS
Lidia Thorpe has said she’s ‘proud’ of her protest at Mardi Gras after she laid down in the middle of the parade and clashed with police.
The former Greens senator drew boos from the crowd as she disrupted the parade along Oxford Street in Sydney.
Daily Mail Australia watched as Senator Thorpe suddenly crashed the police section of the parade holding her arms crossed above her head yelling ‘f**k the police’.
After chasing down officers as they marched, she repeatedly yelled her slogan in their faces as others confronted her.
She then jumped in front of the Australian Federal Police float and laid down on the ground, bringing it to a stop.
Senator Thorpe addressed her behaviour the morning after, saying she was ‘proud’ of her action.
‘Black and brown trans women started the first pride march as a protest against police violence,’ she wrote on Twitter.
‘Today, we still face violence from police. Proud to have joined the #PrideInProtest float in Sydney to say #NoPrideInGenocide, #NoPrideInPrisons and #NoCopsInPride.’
Senator Thorpe was later pictured lying on her back in front of a float as it tried to travel down Oxford Street as two police officers asked her to move on amid ‘boos’ from the crowd
Footage of her protest circulated around social media on Sunday morning with her antics drawing plenty of criticism.
‘She’s zero respect for LGBTQIA people. The woman is a disgrace!’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘Is there anywhere that Lidia Thorpe can go and just act like a normal human being?
‘Is it really that hard to conduct yourself in a decent manner??’
‘In a desperate attempt for attention & relevance, activist Lidia Thorpe lays down in front of #MardiGras2023 parade float preventing it from moving forward, scuffles with police & allegedly yelled ‘F*** the police’,’ a third person wrote.
‘A total disgrace to elected office!’
No charges were laid and there was no arrests.
Ms Thorpe marched with the ‘No Pride in Genocide’ float, who campaign for zero police presence at Mardi Gras and was earlier pictured wearing First Nations colours and holding an Aboriginal Flag handbag.
Senator Thorpe wore Aboriginal colours and held a ‘No Pride in Genocide’ sign to the iconic parade
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