An ABC security guard got into an on-air brawl with a protester during an anti-war demonstration in Melbourne.
Protesters gathered on Thursday morning to protest against the Land Forces Defence Exhibition being held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
It is the second day of demonstrations and comes after wild scenes on Wednesday, when protesters clashed with police, throwing horse manure and stones, while officers made arrests and brandished batons in an effort to calm tensions.
Tensions were high on Thursday when ABC reporter Stephanie Ferrier and several security guards were interrupted by unruly protesters during a live broadcast.
It is the latest case of a journalist being targeted in protests after police shot a Daily Mail Australia reporter with rubber bullets.
While she was performing a live cross, one of the security guards was seen fighting with a protester.
In the clip, the protester appears to walk in front of the camera when a security guard pushes him.
The protest then appears to be directed against the security guard.
Tensions were high on Thursday as an ABC reporter made her way to the scene with several security guards before her live cross was interrupted by unruly protesters.
Protests erupted into chaos in Melbourne on Wednesday when demonstrators set fire to rubbish.
Then the other security guard intervenes and appears to push the protesters.
Another protester can be seen breaking up the fight and urging the pair to “calm down.”
“We are currently trying to report on this and we are having some difficulties,” the journalist says.
As the reporter tries to get away from the crowd, more people follow her.
The tense scenes came after Channel 7 Sunrise reporter Teegan Dolling was surrounded by protesters on Wednesday.
One protester put her hand over the camera lens, Dolling pushed her arm away and what appeared to be private security guarding the journalist intervened, but the protester managed to get her hands over the camera at least once more.
“It’s not about whether people are treating our reporter badly,” anchor Natalia Barr said from the studio.
Anti-war protesters marched through Melbourne on a second day of demonstrations on Thursday
One of thousands of police officers deployed in Melbourne on Thursday
In the hours after the protest, she wrote an article for 7News where she described the protest as “vile and violent.”
“First there was the stench of OC spray in the air, then came the overwhelming smell of vomit, as protesters threw vomit-filled water balloons at police, delegates and media,” Dolling wrote.
‘Duckling for cover as padlocks, apples, chairs and horse manure were thrown at anyone the activists believed held different opinions.’
He said Melbourne was once the most liveable country in the world and had seen many protests, but “none this vile and violent”.
“The aggression came in waves, as police moved towards the group of 2,000 people to remove them from the road, escort members of the public to safety or extinguish the flames,” he wrote.
Ms Dolling said protesters did not listen to instructions to move and reacted with attacks on police and cruelty towards horses.
It was the city’s largest protest in 24 years and resulted in 42 people being arrested.
Disrupt Ground Forces say they will continue protesting for the rest of the conference this week.
A noticeably smaller crowd formed in Melbourne on Thursday morning compared to the previous day.
(tags to translate)dailymail
