Third Man Charged After City Brawl Following Anti-Immigration Rallies

A third man has been charged in relation to a Sydney bar brawl, in the hours following the anti-immigration rally in the city on Sunday.

An 18-year-old attended Day Street Police Station at 5:45 on Thursday morning, where he was arrested and charged with assault police officer in execution of duty and hinder police officer in execution of duty.

Police were called to Bar Broadway in Chippendale at 5:40pm on Sunday evening after reports that a brawl had broken out following a group of pub goers yelling offensively at a passerby on the street.

Officers attempted to disperse the group, when 48-year-old Matthew Smith assaulted a male constable. Police allege that when attempts were made to arrest Smith, another man, 29-year-old Sean Raics, also attacked the same officer.

Police are now alleging that a third man, the 18-year-old, attempted to obstruct police by grabbing the officer’s arm, and later grabbing his face and pushing him, before verbally abusing the officer.

The man then left the premises. Capsicum spray was deployed, and Smith and Raics were apprehended after a short pursuit on foot.

The officer sustained minor injuries following the incidents, with the pair charged and before the courts.

The 18-year-old was refused bail to appear in Bail Division Court 7 today.

Arrestees may have attended ‘March for Australia” rallies earlier

Police said on Monday that they believe the men had attended the anti-immigration march held in Sydney earlier in the day, which saw an estimated 15,000 people take to the streets chanting “send them back” amid other white supremacist sentiments.

Protesters marched from Belmore Park next to Central Station, to Victoria Park in Camperdown, with speeches heard from neo-Nazi-adjacent group, the National Socialist Network, during an open mic portion of the day.

Concurrently, a rally supporting refugees attracted a few hundred people, while the regular pro-Palestine march attracted two to three thousand.

Politicians and other justice-based groups have come forward to condemn the protests this week, with NSW Premier Chris Minns warning that those who “indulge” in racism were “subject to the full force of the law”.

“I just want to say, if you go to a rally and the Nazis turn up, it’s not one you should be at, and no one can deny that they were there,” he told reporters on Monday. “No one can deny that racist language was used. I mean, we can have civil debates about policy issues that affect the country, but this tipped into far more than that.”