Page:Deeming v Pesutto (No 3) (2024, FCA).pdf/37

well we both thought that there was antifa um and I was told even putting my uh tripod at the top of the steps there was a very militant, there was a very militant police officer that was like get [off] the steps don't stand on the steps, don't stand on the steps, don't stand the steps. Really wouldn't let us stand there and we had a permit for where we did stand but there were other people that didn't have a permit.

MD: Yes so the thing that I found very confusing was that we were assured by the police and as I say, it seems to us while we were there that everything was going well that the police were trying to help us and I think the majority were but when I was alerted to the fact that they were all these masked men coming towards us they were all in black we couldn't see their faces I thought that the trans rights activists had broken through the line and we're about to get attacked.

I honestly just thought this is it yep I'm about to, we're all about to get attacked. Um but the police were very, very calm and you know they had set up a big buffer zone, they had set up you know a boundary but they were talking to these people and letting them stand on the steps and take photos I was told later that they had a banner or something.

You know, but then I was also told later that one of our marshals had stood like this with her arms out to stop them from coming in because like me like most women there we thought that they were antifa, they had broken through the lines we were about to get attacked and the police for some reason that I do not understand, ushered them in let them have photos on the steps next to us and then instead of pushing them back out the same way that they came in, took them right through that the middle of the buffer zone that they had been, you know, at great pains to separate us all um from either side of, they just walked them right through the middle and, and then right as they were in the centre in front of all those cameras they did a Nazi salute and that was horrifying but, you know, that was only a split second because then you know they would continue to be escorted out and so I thought oh good they've taken them out but it was only later on I thought why did they even let them in here, what, how were they able to keep all those trans rights activists, the ones who were punching horses, how did they keep all of those people away from us but they just welcomed in and let these people in black masks you couldn't see their faces, no identifying, um

AJ [Ms Jones]: They looked like black bloc, they did, they looked like black bloc…

MD: You know, there was no symbols. People are saying, you know, why didn't you tell the Nazis to leave well there was no Nazi symbols on them I thought they were antifa um until they put their hands up like that I thought they were the trans rights activists um and then when they did that you know they were being escorted out and it was over.

KJK: Well the funny thing is as well they shout at me you can't run you can't hide you've got Nazis on your side and they're really angry shouting that I'm this thing and this apparent thing that they really hate when they those men did that Nazi salute…

MD: There's no reaction

KJK: There was no reaction whatsoever, those trans activists didn't get more angry didn't shout didn't get more agres… they didn't do anything,

MD: It was as if they were saying hello. [*Laughter*]

KJK: Maybe it was that maybe to their friends but um I think it's very interesting because I think any one of us recognisable women had walked that same bit down there they would have broken through they would have attacked us and I just… something about all of this doesn't make any sense it feels really off, it feels like they were either… I mean look in the UK we had police impregnating women who were animal

---