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Several protesters held a rally against the national coronavirus lockdown restrictions at the GPO in Dublin city center on Saturday.
A group of around 60 protesters with banners and tricolor flags gathered on O’Connell St at 2pm.
Several Garda law enforcement units were on standby, but the protest passed without clashes between protesters and Gardaí.
Shortly after the crowd began to gather, two Gardaí approached the group and warned them that the protest was not in line with public health guidelines.
The Gardaí asked the group to identify who the organizers of the protest were, which the group refused to do.
A small Garda presence stood in front of the GPO monitoring the protest, which lasted more than two hours.
Two public order unit vans were parked on a side street next to the GPO, with three other Garda vans waiting further down O’Connell St.
The protesters’ posters and a large banner called for an end to the blocking measures, which the Government put in place to limit the spread of Covid-19. Other signs carried common conspiracy theory messages that opposed vaccines, 5G, and fluoride.
During a series of speeches, protesters frequently criticized the public health measures of Covid-19, the government, the Garda, and the media.
The leaflets distributed by the protesters contained a number of false claims that were often made by the far right, including the conspiracy theory that the coronavirus pandemic was an organized event.
Few in the crowd covered their faces or observed social distancing, with several people hugging and shaking hands as the group gathered. Several young children were also brought to the protest.
The protest followed similar demonstrations earlier this week. Eleven anti-blockade protesters were arrested after clashes with Gardaí on Grafton St on Thursday.
Several Gardaí used batons to subdue protesters before pinning them to the ground and handcuffing them, to ensure that the city’s main shopping street was not occupied for a sit-in protest, as had happened several weeks earlier.
Speaking on Friday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said there had been no “heavy hand” in the Garda’s response to protesters against Thursday’s shutdown. Gardaí would not allow the protesters to “rush” through the main streets of the city, he said.
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