A group of Christian men took out an “anti-LGBTQI” march on King Street in Sydney’s inner-west suburb Newtown on Friday night. Newtown is one of Sydney’s gaybourhoods and is home to a number of queer venues.
The march took place as Sydney is celebrating WorldPride, one of the largest Pride celebrations in the Southern Hemisphere. On Sunday, March 5, around 50,000 people, including international visitors, are scheduled to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, for the WorldPride march.
Videos posted on social media showed the group of men, many wearing black hoodies and some in masks, marching menacingly on King Street, loudly chanting the Lord’s Prayer. There were reports that the group entered queer venues and intimidated people on the street. NSW Police said no arrests were made over the “unauthorised protest”.
No Arrests Made
An NSW Police spokesperson told Star Observer in a statement that around 8 pm on Friday night, “officers attached to Inner West Police Area Command, along with specialist police resources attended King Street, Newtown, in relation to unauthorised protest activity.”
“Police spoke with a group of about 30 people who marched along the footpath on King Street, Newtown, before dispersing just before 9 pm,” the spokesperson said, adding, “No arrests were made.”
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“While we won’t comment on specific individuals or groups, the community can be assured we continue to monitor activities and will take action where appropriate,” the police spokesperson said.
Anti-LGBTQI Group
Video footage of the march was posted by Charlie Bakhos, who runs the Facebook page Christian Lives Matter. “Huge turnout with the boys praying powerful rosary in Newtown tonight,” Bakhos posted on Instagram, about the group of 30-odd men who showed up for the march.
Sniff Off, the Greens group campaigning for police accountability posted on Twitter about the protest: “We’ve received reports of this anti-LGBTQIA+ group walking the streets chanting the Lord’s Prayer… the group entered queer venues and intimidated people on the streets and at the station.”
Bakhos has recently posted videos of the WorldPride mural outside Wynyard station and the rainbow stairs outside Pitt Street Uniting Church being vandalised by homophobic bigots.
Bakhos has also been calling for protests over comedian Reuben Kaye’s ‘Jesus joke’ on Network 10 show The Project