Police stopped anti-fascism protesters from clashing with a group of neo-Nazis holding a “white powerlifting competition” at a boxing gym in Melbourne’s west on Saturday.
Dozens of anti-fascism protesters marched to the Legacy Boxing Gym in Sunshine West, walking down Industrial Drive just before 3pm chanting “unite, unite, unite to fight the right”, before calling on the white supremacists to face them in the street.
The neo-Nazi group waved at the protesters and performed Sieg Heil salutes from behind a fence, but did not leave the gym – previously linked to far-right groups – while demonstrators were outside.
The protest ended about 3.30pm.
Before the protest began, a small group of balaclava-clad white supremacists walked outside the gym, which was adorned with Nazi symbolism.
Barricades, two police lines and a buffer zone separated both groups. Victoria Police had declared the area around the gym a designated area, allowing officers to search people and vehicles for weapons, and remove anyone from the area they suspected intended to brawl.
White supremacist groups the National Socialist Network and the European Australian Movement were holding a two-day event for members of the “nationalist community” at the gym, which has been connected to some of Victoria’s most prominent neo-Nazis.
Read the article by Marta Pascual Juanola in The Age.