Rival protest groups clashed after members of the LGBT+ community blocked access to a church where One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham was scheduled to speak. Reportedly, Community Action for Rainbow Rights organized around 15 LGBT+ protestors who gathered outside St. Michael’s Church Belfield in Sydney on March 21. Soon, hundreds of individuals, who allegedly included members of the Christian Lives Matter movement, confronted the group, leading to scuffles and two arrests. Police were hit with bottles as they tried to separate the groups while a live streamer was knocked over. As the leader has been a vocal critic of the state’s education system, exposing young students to issues like gender fluidity and transgenderism, the One Nation New South Wales (NSW) party has been steadily gaining support in Sydney’s western electorates. The violence was condemned by Latham and labeled as disgraceful by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet while Labor leader Chris Minns described the violence as unfortunate. Christian Lives Matter founder Charlie Bakhos claimed that he organized a group to pray at the event while the counter-protestors were a different group, which included Muslims, non-believers, and Christians.
Violent conflict outside Sydney church during speech opposing transgenderism.
