Independent senator Lidia Thorpe was pulled to the ground by police outside Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, as she attempted to interrupt anti-trans campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull at a rally.
Keen-Minshull, joined by One Nation politicians Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts, was speaking to a group of protestors outside parliament, when Thorpe attempted to interrupt.
Video footage shows Thorpe, draped in an Aboriginal flag, being pushed back by a man in a suit, and then pulled to the ground by a police officer.
Thorpe can be seen crawling away before walking to join a counter protest of LGBTQI+ and trans rights activists.
Keen-Minshull, who also goes by the name Posie Parker, was the headline speaker at the anti-trans rally in Melbourne last weekend that was attended by a group of neo-Nazis.
Speaking afterwards Thorpe said “We do not tolerate this kind of filth being on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, let alone, the Nazi support that these people have”.
“They are racist, they are homophobic, they are destroying people’s lives and this country should be ashamed that they even let people like this into this country.
“So I’ve been assaulted by the police today as a sovereign Gunnai Gunditjmara Djab Wurrung woman and the police need to answer for the assault, but also this government need to answer why these people are allowed in this country.”
The Australian Federal Police Thursday afternoon issued a statement saying the incident would be reviewed.
The anti-trans rally only managed to attract a handful of protestors. They were far outnumbered by a group of pro-trans rights supporters who gathered to show solidarity with LGBTQI+ people.