Al-anwar Newspaper English news in Australia
A Blockade Australia protester arrested after live-streaming himself suspended on a pole above train tracks at Port Botany in March was found in possession of a handwritten “how-to” guide outlining what he should say and do, a court has heard.
Despite being a seasoned activist, Alex Lewis Pearse apparently needed instructional notes advising him how to best get his point across to his online audience, who were watching the scenes unfold on the Blockade Australia Facebook page.
“Don’t say anything about harm, risk or monetary value,” the note read, along with a reminder to “invite people to June” – an apparent reference to this week’s series of public protests that have thrown the city’s commuters into chaos.
The note also included a script of what Pearse should say during the live-stream.
Pearse was arrested by police after he and eight other protesters erected a 6.5 metre pole on the train tracks just before 7.30am on March 24, then used a harness and ropes to suspend Pearse on a makeshift seat five meters in the air.
Authorities stopped all trains immediately, with the ensuing police operation to remove Pearse and dismantle the pole set up causing major delays across the city’s train network.
Pearse, who lives almost 1000km away in South Brisbane, was charged with causing obstruction to railway locomotive or rolling stock, remaining on enclosed lands and failing to comply with a police direction.
Pearse’s lawyer entered guilty pleas to all three charges in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.
The court heard Pearse already has a record for activism-related crimes in Queensland.
