A sea of flags could be seen on the lawns of Parliament House as group of at least 1000 anti-vaccine protesters rallied to demand an end to COVID-19 mandates and the resignation of parliament.
Protesters told The Canberra Times more were expected to arrive over the weekend, a claim bolstered by the event's channel on encrypted messaging app Telegram.
The crowd travelled from Old Parliament House after driving a convoy and marching from Glebe Park.
A truck driver jackknifed his vehicle on the State Circle to stop traffic while protesters broke past a single police officer to get a closer.
"I think they're arresting one of the brothers. We are just seeing if he's alright," said one protester.
Police cleared the area and allowed the truck driver to leave.
The incident seemed to splinter the protest, which had been centred around speeches in front of Parliament House. Some moved towards State Circle while a large section returned to Old Parliament House.
THREAD: Thanks to @KatjaTheo and @DrJoshuaRoose for their insights on the far-right's complex relationship with the COVID-19 protest movement currently in the capital.
— Finn McHugh (@FinnianMchugh) February 4, 2022
The @canberratimes spent the week with protestors, and here's what we discovered 👇 https://t.co/fbULefsHtK
Speeches to the crowd began with protesters cheering and singing along to I am Australian.
The movement is incredibly broad and includes anti-vaxxers, sovereign citizens, Indigenous rights activists and evangelical Christians. But the crowd has two common demands: an end to vaccine mandates; and the resignation of Australian political leaders.
While extreme right wing groups were present, including The Proud Boys who were masked to hide their identities, they did not make up the majority.
Former Qantas pilot Graham Hood, a spokesperson for the anti-vaccination movement who has been accused of spreading misinformation, addressed the crowd claiming the government has no legal authority over the country.
While there is strong police presence at the protest, so far the situation has remained peaceful. Via a microphone and platform set up outside Parliament House, leaders have urged crowds to respect the police and not approach the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.
North Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen was also among the crowd.
"Thousands of people here from all walks of life," he said in a livestream over social media.
"They claim we're fringe dwellers, but look at all the people here. All they're wanting is for this nonsense to end.
"We want our freedom back, we want these mandates to end, we want medical segregation to end, lockdowns, state border closures."
United Australia party leader Craig Kelly was also spotted talking to protesters and walking among the group.
The protesters carried red ensign flags, co-opted by the Sovereign Citizen movement, and marched up Northbourne Avenue, then over Commonwealth Bridge and to Old Parliament House.
Barricades have been set up around the lawn outside Parliament House to prevent people from driving onto the grass.
The group chanted "save our children" and "no more mandates" as it marched down Northbourne Avenue.
During the march the lead banner reading "COVID-19 vaccine makers have no liability" was often broken up showing a contradictory "COVID-19 vaccine" message.
ACT Policing urged people to avoid central Canberra as the protests continued for the sixth day.
This comes after an illegal campsite on the lawns of Old Parliament House was dispersed by police on Friday, with a large section relocating to the Exhibition Park.
On Saturday, protest leaders warned the crowd against conspiracy theories circulating which claimed the group had been lured to Exhibition Park to be locked in quarantine for a fortnight.
A 44-year-old West Australian doomsday prepper James Edward Greer, 44, faced court on Saturday after police found a loaded modified rifle in his vehicle. No arrests were made in relation to crowd behaviour.
A group of anti-vaccine mandate protesters started camping at the site on Monday and held various rallies across Canberra before things turned ugly on Wednesday when three people were arrested and faced charges.
The Canberra Times understands the group - part of an international Millions March Against Mandatory Vaccination movement - are planning on staying in the nation's capital until at least Tuesday, February 8, when Federal Parliament returns for its first sitting week of the year.
The group is a loosely structured coalition of the anti-vaccination movement, religious groups and other fringe and conspiracy-driven ideological groups. Members of white supremacy groups have been seen carrying flags of the Knights Templar as part of the protests with The Proud Boys posing outside Parliament House on Monday.
