Western Australia police say a man has been charged after a device containing screws and ball bearings was attacked during a march in Perth on January 26.
The Invasion Day rally had drawn thousands of people to Forest Place in the CBD around midday on Monday, and the speeches began shortly afterwards.
At around 12.30pm, police allege a 31-year-old man from Warwick threw a glass object, approximately the size of “a medium-sized coffee cup” containing an unknown liquid and shrapnel, into the crowd.
“Members of the public saw a man throw an object down in front of the stage,” WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said at a press conference on Monday.
“The bystanders immediately spoke to the police [and] they arrested the person who threw the device, and that man indicated that device may have contained explosives.
“Forensics are currently doing what they need to do to identify what that fluid is.”
Commissioner Blanch thanked the meeting organizers for their assistance in “immediately” evacuating the area following the incident.
The man is accused of making or possessing an explosive and committing an act with intent to cause damage.
He will appear in Perth District Court on Tuesday.
Clashes with anti-immigration marches
Elsewhere in the country, police were active to protect against possible clashes between the March for Australia and Invasion Day groups.
In Melbourne, the two demonstrations wound through the city just blocks apart, with one ending where the other began.
“Please don’t participate,” was the advice Gunnai and Gunditjmara activist Meriki Onus gave protesters on Invasion Day, ahead of possible clashes.
Among those who addressed the meeting on Invasion Day was Millie Ingram, who read a statement on behalf of Uncle Mark Brown, an elder from Burunong.
Mr Brown’s Welcome to Country at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance was criticized by neo-Nazis on Anzac Day in 2025.
Protesters then marched chanting, “Always have been, always will be” and “What do we want? Land rights. When do we want them? Now.”
The largely peaceful Invasion Day march ended near Flinders Street Station, where the March for Australia rally had started earlier in the day.
At that protest, cries of “deportation” and “send them back” were heard as attendees waved Australian flags and carried signs in support of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party.
As the group moved towards the steps of parliament, loud cheers erupted as demonstrators passed the Immigration Museum.
Riot police and mounted police lined the streets and escorted demonstrators, including neo-Nazi members dressed in civilian clothes.
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