Five people who allegedly abused pharmacy staff in the Great Southern town of Albany in March will face court again after pleading not guilty to charges relating to the incident.
Police will allege the group, aged between 52 and 86, refused to wear masks after entering a chemist on York Street in Albany's city centre.
It is alleged the group of protesters then abused the pharmacy workers about vaccinations, prompting a staff member to call the police.
When police arrived, all individuals were outside the store.
John Erickson, Lynette Erickson, Edmund Hersted, Jean Hersted, and Mario Vargas were all charged with failing to comply with a request to give police personal details.
Each of the accused was scheduled to appear in Albany Magistrates Court on Thursday, but none entered the building.
The group instead pleaded not guilty to the charges via an endorsed plea from their lawyer, because they were denied entry to the court for refusing to wear masks.
All five will be required to attend Albany Courthouse on August 1 for a new hearing, and Magistrate Diane Scaddan has warned the accused could face consequences if they chose to remain outside again.
"If there is still a mask mandate and they do not appear … they'll be deemed as non-attendances," she said.
This week, WA Premier Mark McGowan said he hoped the state was past its COVID-19 peak but had not indicated when mask mandates would be removed.
