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4h ago

Porepunkah Police Killings Intensify Focus on Sovereign‑Citizen Threat

Security agencies warn a pandemic‑era resurgence has turned a fringe pseudo‑law subculture into a volatile threat.

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Dezi Freeman has been described as a "very active sovereign citizen" who is held in "high regard" by followers of the movement, as experts warn about the dangers of the group.
People holding Australian flags outside Parliament House in Canberra.
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Overview

  • Two Victoria Police officers were fatally shot and a third was wounded near Porepunkah, with the suspect reported by ABC to remain at large.
  • Police say the alleged gunman, 56-year-old Dezi Freeman, espoused sovereign‑citizen beliefs that reject the legitimacy of Australian law.
  • Freeman previously attempted to “arrest” a magistrate, pursued a failed private prosecution of former premier Daniel Andrews, and resisted police in traffic matters.
  • The AFP and ASIO have flagged rising organisation and volatility in the movement since COVID‑19, with overlap across anti‑vaccination and conspiracy networks, and the FBI classifies its extremist wing as a domestic terrorism threat in the US.
  • Courts in Australia consistently throw out sovereign‑citizen arguments as baseless, even as adherents deploy tactics such as refusing police directions and filing vexatious “paper terrorism.”