A group of around 30 men staged a Christian protest march on a popular entertainment strip in Sydney’s inner west on Friday night, in what police confirmed was “unauthorised protest activity”.
The men were filmed marching down King Street in Newtown, while praying and holding rosary beads above their heads.
Footage of the protest was shared on the Facebook page of a group called Christian Lives Matter, with one member writing: “Huge turnout with the boys praying powerful rosary in Newtown tonight. #christianlivesmatter”
Newtown is an LGBTQ+ hub that is home to several popular bars that host drag shows, and the suburb has been home to many Pride Inner West events this month amid WorldPride celebrations across the city.
Timothy Collis, who was out for dinner with friends on Friday night in Newtown, filmed the group as they went past.
“When we got outside the Marly Hotel, we saw a bunch of police in front of 30-40 guys wearing black … walking on the footpath chanting the Hail Mary,” Collis said.
“Everyone kind of realised what was going on with the religious chanting and huge police presence that it was an anti-queer, anti-pride protest.”
Collis said the protest felt intimidating and that his group of friends stayed inside the hotel.
The writer and Newtown local Millie Roberts, who was also in the area, said the group tried to get into the Bank Hotel, which regularly hosts queer events, but was refused.
“They were walking down being disruptive, there was police on either side shepherding them through,” Roberts said. “It was very tense.”
New South Wales police said in a statement that around 8pm on Friday evening officers attended King Street, Newtown in relation to “unauthorised protest activity”.
“Police spoke with a group of about 30 people who marched along the footpath on King Street, Newtown, before dispersing just before 9pm. No arrests were made.”
The CLM group’s Facebook page features multiple posts critical of LGBTQ+ activism and pride, with the administrator of the page recently posting about the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, marching in the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
“I’m not going to tell you who to vote for but this will show you who to make sure you don’t vote for ever again,” the caption read. What a sad day to be Australian.”
The page also features multiple posts about Network Ten program The Project airing a sexual joke about Jesus earlier this week.
The hosts Waleed Aly and Sarah Harris apologised the following night for offending Christian and Muslim viewers.
The group organised a Zoom meeting which was attended by 1,000 people after the joke aired, they said in a post.
“We have all had enough and this show last night crossed the line with the mocking of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” the leader of the group wrote.
“Everyone needs to stand united and we need to put a stop to all this.”
The Greens MP for Newtown, Jenny Leong, slammed the march on Friday night as “disgraceful”.
“Our Newtown community wears with pride our diversity – and we celebrate difference,” she wrote on Twitter. “(This) is not welcome on our streets.”
Guardian Australia has contacted the Christian Lives Matter page and administrator for comment.
The administrator responded by forwarding a posted statement accusing the media of posting defamatory comments about him.
“Last night I didn’t organise any protest or rosary in Newtown and I wasn’t even there, police already know this … all I did was post the video.”
