Newly Released Footage Shows No Campaigner Being Spat on at Yes Event in Cooma

A No campaigner who was spat at by a Yes supporter has shared new footage after claiming he was allegedly attacked by another campaigner shortly afterwards.

Andrew Thaler was at a Yes campaign event in Cooma, southeast NSW, when he was filmed being spat on by Voice supporter and emeritus professor Denise Ferris of the ANU, September 17.

Mr Thaler then claimed he was allegedly attacked by another activist immediately afterwards, with footage of the altercation revealed on Monday.

Footage showed a man allegedly punching Mr Thaler near a Yes tent before Ms Ferris approached and was seen punching the No campaigner’s phone.

Mr. Thaler, a well-known activist, has sparked controversy over the past year. He was branded a “parasite” by 2GB presenter Ben Fordham after he claimed he spoke on behalf of the family whose grandmother, Clare Nowland, 95, was fatally shot by a Taser in a retirement home in Cooma on May 17.

He also ran for political office at different levels of government and pleaded guilty in 2022 to intimidation of a Rural Fire Service staff member four years earlier. He avoided conviction.

In a video taken by Mr. Thaler at the Yes event, the man is seen pressing his face close to the camera.

The incident occurred after Mr Thaler was spat on by Professor Ferris, the No campaigner demanding to know the name of the woman who followed the act.

“So what’s this bitch’s name?” Someone tell me? I came to take a photo of your lambs,” Mr. Thaler said.

The man in the video is seen facing the No activist.

‘Hey, mindfuck, fuck you. Fucking mind, fuck you,” he said.

“No, I stand by my position,” replied Mr. Thaler. “Stop pushing me. »

The man is seen in the video waving his arm at Mr Thaler who raises his right arm to try to push him away.

“One meter,” Mr. Thaler said. ‘Do it again.’

A woman can be heard pleading with the man on camera.

Andrew Thaler was at a Yes campaign event in Cooma, southeast NSW, when he was filmed being spat on by Voice supporter and emeritus professor Denise Ferris of the ANU, September 17.

“At one meter, give me his name,” repeated Mr. Thaler.

Professor Ferris can be seen in the footage slapping Mr Thaler’s right hand and he drops the phone.

Mr Thaler told Daily Mail Australia he tried to hold the arm back with his one arm while he filmed the altercation.

“I was trying to push him back a meter with my right arm while my left hand held the phone,” he said.

“Other Yes people were walking around me and surrounding me. One of them even came and approached my wife.

“And then some of our supporters came.”

Professor Ferris is heard in the footage saying she would call the police.

Mr. Thaler encourages her by saying that she just spat on him.

“I didn’t,” Professor Ferris said.

“It’s on video, you stupid bitch,” Mr. Thaler replied.

Mr Thaler (pictured) accused police of dragging their feet in investigating clashes with Yes activists.

Mr Thaler said he had previously been confronted by Professor Ferris as he walked towards the Labor Party’s Yes23 tent to take a photo of the petting zoo’s lambs around lunchtime during a monthly market in the park.

“I was just taking a picture of the lambs,” Mr. Thaler said.

“They used this to attract children and bring parents with them. It was an inexpensive operation, but the little lambs were in the sun all day.

In the video, Mr. Thaler can be heard calling Professor Ferris a “stupid mole” before seeing her spit on the camera.

Professor Ferris claimed the argument had nothing to do with The Voice and that she felt approached by Mr Thaler which caused her to react in a state of “fight or flight” panic.

She claimed she was only trying to “block” Mr. Thaler’s camera “without making physical contact.”

“I didn’t spit on him. I wanted to block his camera without having physical contact,” she said. Theft? Should I turn my back on him – no way, I’m too afraid of his actions, it was so traumatic.

Mr Thaler accused NSW Police of dragging their feet over the incident.

A NSW Police spokesperson said an “investigation is ongoing” and there were “no updates we can provide”.

Professor Denise Ferris (pictured) denied spitting at Mr Thaler and said she acted out of “fight or flight” panic.