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Over 30 people violently clashed outside a Halal expo in Melbourne, Australia, this Sunday, between anti-Islamic and anti-fascists groups, but possibly worse is the fact that police arrested only anti-racists protesters, while the local media sided with the anti-immigrants saying the provocateurs of the brawl belonged to the group opposed to white supremacist sentiment.
Police, who were accused by witnesses of not having a handle on the situation, arrested about 15 leftists activists and one man was rushed to hospital with face injuries, according to local media. Later, the New Age Victoria news outlet said nobody ended up in jail or charged with the violent incident.
Witnesses told reporters on scene that punches were thrown as police struggled to put an end to the violence.
One witness said the violent bashing lasted a few minutes but was “very intense.”
The anti-Islamic group calls themselves the Party For Freedom and claim to be a political group, which advocates against multiculturalism and open borders.
The anti-fascist group say they belong to the Antifa movement.
Police are reportedly investigating the clash, according to news reports.
"It was pretty intense. There was a lot of punches thrown, brawling, people using flags to push people away, and it happened for around one to two minutes," said Erik Anderson, a witness of the event.
Almost simultaneously, hundreds of anti-racist protesters held a rally at the city's Federation Square.
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