Video shows police clashing with protesters before arresting over 120 people at an anti-mandate protest outside the New Zealand parliament on Thursday.
Protesters took over New Zealand’s capital of Wellington to object to vaccine mandates and other Covid-19 restrictions inspired by the recent Canadian protest, the Freedom Convoy, according to Reuters. (RELATED: Freedom Convoy Started By Truckers Spreads To Finland)
The protest lasted three days before turning fiery when officers attempted to forcefully remove the demonstrators from parliament grounds on Thursday, according to France 24. New Zealand police used pepper spray to control crowds and arrest 122 people, France 24 reported.
VIDEO: Anti-vaccine protesters confront police outside New Zealand’s parliament.
Dozens were arrested after demonstrators who have laid siege to the legislature for days were ordered to move on pic.twitter.com/dmldS8RhRl
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 10, 2022
Carrie, a protester in Wellington, called the Thursday actions by the New Zealand police “brutal,” according to France 24.
“The way the police handled us has shocked us all to the core,” she told the AFP, France 24 reported. “What they did yesterday was way beyond any of our expectations.”
Footage reported by the New Zealand Heritage showed police violently dragging an undressed woman across the parliament lawn in an attempt to arrest her for protesting.
The New Zealand police stated on Friday the settlement remained primarily peaceful overnight, and only two arrests occurred for “alcohol-related behavior,” Reuters reported.
Despite the clash between police and protesters yesterday, more demonstrators showed up to parliament on Friday to continue objecting to the country’s Covid-19 restrictions, according to Reuters. The number of protestors grew from 250 to about 1,500 on Friday, France 24 reported.
“Police continue to take a measured approach to the protesters, who are trespassing on the grounds of Parliament and have been repeatedly asked to leave,” New Zealand Police Superintendent Corrie Parnell said in a statement according to Reuters.
Police warned that a “range of different causes,” like misinformation on social media, create issues with keeping “clear and meaningful lines of communication” open with the protestors, Reuters reported.
At the Friday protest, an organizer praised the movement saying, “it looks more like a festival here,” adding, “Does anybody see a mob here,” Reuters reported.
It would be great if authorities were intent on getting police in numbers to crack down on and clear away gangs on our streets like they seem to be doing with the protesters at parliament.
— Winston Peters (@winstonpeters) February 9, 2022
Leader of New Zealand First party, Winston Peters, threw his support behind the protest on Wednesday before the violent Thursday clash. Protesters remain committed to ending the mandates at the protest’s carnival-like atmosphere on Friday, according to France 24.