Pro-Palestine activists wreak havoc in wild protest at Melb Central
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Shoppers and retail staff were forced to take cover in stores and behind security shutters as frantic scenes broke out at Melbourne Central amid a pro-Palestine rally on Saturday afternoon.
The havoc started just before 2pm, when dozens of activists stormed the centre as part of a 'national day of protest' calling for Australia to 'cut ties with Trump's America'.
Melbourne's version of the rally, initiated by Students for Palestine, kicked off an hour earlier outside the State Library in the CBD at 1pm.
Several groups, including Free Palestine Melbourne, Students for Palestine and the Victorian Socialists, were in attendance with many seen handing out flyers to passer-by's ahead of the rally.
Among those in the crowd was federal Victorian Socialists candidate for Fraser Jasmine Duff — who was also a prominent player in the Deakin University encampment — and several other university students who led encampments across the city's tertiary institutions last year.
Meanwhile, Free Palestine Melbourne lead organiser Mai Saif, socialist and union activist Jerome Small and human rights activist Rathy Barthlote were among the speakers at the event.
They described US President Donald Trump as a 'billionaire nepo-baby' who was a 'symbol of racism' and an advocate for 'cruel policies'.
They also called for the '$168b monstrosity that is the AUKUS submarine bill' to be scrapped, for Australia to shut down all US bases and stressed that Mr Trump was 'not welcome here'.
The rally then spilled out onto Swanston St as protesters began to march through the city at 1.45pm, forcing Yarra Trams' incident response team to close off some tram tracks and Victoria Police to control traffic to keep everyone safe.
But the mostly peaceful rally took a chaotic turn just after 2pm, when protesters marching down Lonsdale St targeted Melbourne Central shopping centre.
Centre security tried to block all major entrances before the protesters arrived, but it wasn't enough to stop them running through one entryway with their banners and flags.
Shoppers and families were forced to scramble out of the way as protesters ran through the centre, with some stores pulling down roller shutters to stop them from entering.
One father was forced to shield his infant child's ears from the ruckus as protesters' chants echoed throughout the centre.
At one stage a fight broke out between a protester and passer-by in front of the Optus store, with the protester being flung to the ground.
Centre security quickly intervened before a bigger fight could break out.
The protesters left the centre 10 minutes after storming through it, before wrapping up their rally just before 2.20pm.
Saturday's protest came as further anti-Trump rallies were held on the streets of Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Wollongong.
It also followed an earlier anti-Trump rally held in Melbourne last month.
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