Raid Underway at Blockade Australia Camp

A massive police raid is underway at a NSW property where climate activists connected with Blockade Australia are camped. Around 100 police including a dog squad, PORT squad with body armour and full face helmets, cammo squads, helicopters, CIB plus ordinary uniformed police surrounded the bush property and have commenced search and seizure procedures. It is unclear what the legal basis is for the raid. Direct actions taken by climate activists in the past have included blocking coal ports, bridges and fossil fuel terminals. No harm to other people has ever occurred during these climate protests. Climate activist Zelda Grimshaw said “This is insane police overreach. No actual crimes have been committed by the climate activists at the camp. These are ordinary people trying to protect earth’s life support systems. This level of police repression of the climate movement is unprecedented. We are now suffering multiple impacts of Australia’s continued climate destruction with unprecedented fires, floods, and repression’.

A massive police raid is underway at a NSW property where climate activists connected with Blockade Australia are camped. Around 100 police including a dog squad, PORT squad with body armour and full face helmets, cammo squads, helicopters, CIB plus ordinary uniformed police surrounded the bush property and have commenced search and seizure procedures. It is unclear what the legal basis is for the raid. Direct actions taken by climate activists in the past have included blocking coal ports, bridges and fossil fuel terminals. No harm to other people has ever occurred during these climate protests. Climate activist Zelda Grimshaw said “This is insane police overreach. No actual crimes have been committed by the climate activists at the camp. These are ordinary people trying to protect earth’s life support systems. This level of police repression of the climate movement is unprecedented. We are now suffering multiple impacts of Australia’s continued climate destruction with unprecedented fires, floods, and repression’.

Update 3pm

Police claim they ‘feared for their lives’ after we discovered them spying on our camp. Errrrmm – THE POLICE WERE THE ONES WITH THE GUNS.

Update 6pm

Official police count of the number of people detained in this morning’s extreme police action is – wait for it- ‘a lot’. 

No lawyer or legal observer has seen the warrant. We have no idea of the legal basis for the uber-raid – if there is one.No lawyer has been able to speak to those detained. No charges have been formally laid.

We estimate police are holding around forty climate activists.

Stand with us to resist this insane police overreach, this criminalisation of nonviolent activism.

We can’t tell you that everyone is OK. Sorry. We just don’t know.

We can tell you that a network of awesome people has sprung into action today doing legal, media, watchouse and caregiving work.

Stay with us. Donate to our chuffed. Stay with us.

Update 7pm

Most people have been released, seven people are still in custody. Police have huge floodlights at our camp and are not allowing anyone to collect belongings, even bedding, for the night. Police are hard at work searching for evidence of intention to repair the climate.

Update 9pm

Seven people are still in detention and are being charged. Police have occupied our camp and evicted everyone, throwing people out into a midwinter night without jackets, bedding or communications devices. Several people remain unaccounted for. Police continue to search for evidence of planning to commit a climate repair.

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A massive police raid is underway at a NSW property where climate activists connected with Blockade Australia are camped. Around 100 police including a dog squad, PORT squad with body armour and full face helmets, cammo squads, helicopters, CIB plus ordinary uniformed police surrounded the bush property and have commenced search and seizure procedures. It is unclear what the legal basis is for the raid. Direct actions taken by climate activists in the past have included blocking coal ports, bridges and fossil fuel terminals. No harm to other people has ever occurred during these climate protests. Climate activist Zelda Grimshaw said “This is insane police overreach. No actual crimes have been committed by the climate activists at the camp. These are ordinary people trying to protect earth’s life support systems. This level of police repression of the climate movement is unprecedented. We are now suffering multiple impacts of Australia’s continued climate destruction with unprecedented fires, floods, and repression’.

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A massive police raid is underway at a NSW property where climate activists connected with Blockade Australia are camped. Around 100 police including a dog squad, PORT squad with body armour and full face helmets, cammo squads, helicopters, CIB plus ordinary uniformed police surrounded the bush property and have commenced search and seizure procedures. It is unclear what the legal basis is for the raid. Direct actions taken by climate activists in the past have included blocking coal ports, bridges and fossil fuel terminals. No harm to other people has ever occurred during these climate protests. Climate activist Zelda Grimshaw said “This is insane police overreach. No actual crimes have been committed by the climate activists at the camp. These are ordinary people trying to protect earth’s life support systems. This level of police repression of the climate movement is unprecedented. We are now suffering multiple impacts of Australia’s continued climate destruction with unprecedented fires, floods, and repression’.

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A massive police raid is underway at a NSW property where climate activists connected with Blockade Australia are camped. Around 100 police including a dog squad, PORT squad with body armour and full face helmets, cammo squads, helicopters, CIB plus ordinary uniformed police surrounded the bush property and have commenced search and seizure procedures. It is unclear what the legal basis is for the raid. Direct actions taken by climate activists in the past have included blocking coal ports, bridges and fossil fuel terminals. No harm to other people has ever occurred during these climate protests. Climate activist Zelda Grimshaw said “This is insane police overreach. No actual crimes have been committed by the climate activists at the camp. These are ordinary people trying to protect earth’s life support systems. This level of police repression of the climate movement is unprecedented. We are now suffering multiple impacts of Australia’s continued climate destruction with unprecedented fires, floods, and repression’.

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A massive police raid is underway at a NSW property where climate activists connected with Blockade Australia are camped. Around 100 police including a dog squad, PORT squad with body armour and full face helmets, cammo squads, helicopters, CIB plus ordinary uniformed police surrounded the bush property and have commenced search and seizure procedures. It is unclear what the legal basis is for the raid. Direct actions taken by climate activists in the past have included blocking coal ports, bridges and fossil fuel terminals. No harm to other people has ever occurred during these climate protests. Climate activist Zelda Grimshaw said “This is insane police overreach. No actual crimes have been committed by the climate activists at the camp. These are ordinary people trying to protect earth’s life support systems. This level of police repression of the climate movement is unprecedented. We are now suffering multiple impacts of Australia’s continued climate destruction with unprecedented fires, floods, and repression’.