Far-right and conspiracy figures have thrown their support behind Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming as she faced expulsion from the party over her attendance at an anti-trans rights rally.
Yesterday the Victorian Liberals’ partyroom voted to suspend her for nine months after Liberal Leader John Pesutto said “any question of an association, even indirectly, with Nazis, white supremacists, eco-fascists or whatever” was unacceptable.
Deeming appeared at an event for UK-based anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull where a group of neo-Nazis turned up in support of the speaker and her cause.
Deeming said she at first believed the white supremacist contingent were LGBTQIA+ or anti-fascist campaigners until she saw them giving Nazi salutes. Crikey does not suggest Deeming knew about the neo-Nazis’ participation before the event or that she interacted with them.
When Pesutto made clear that he would move to expel Deeming, fringe and extreme political figures and groups indicated their support for her and, in some cases, even organised to oppose the motion.
Conservative group Turning Point Australia created a form that allowed people to mass-email all the Victorian Liberals to indicate their support.
“This motion is a political hit job, targeting a dedicated MP standing up for women’s spaces,” the email said. “I believe in supporting and standing up for our people when they are unjustly accused or targeted, not joining the angry mob for political purposes.”
The group is run by Joel Jammal, a former Port Arthur massacre sceptic, long-time broadcast partner of QAnon extremist Riccardo Bosi, and a rising star in the freedom movement.
Head of neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network and rally attendee Thomas Sewell shared messages on social media criticising the Liberal Party for the expulsion motion. One featured a news story along with the text: “Liberal Party meltdown”.
Another known white supremacist, who Crikey has chosen not to identify to avoid further amplification, but whose online pseudonym contains a reference to the 51 people killed in the Christchurch massacre, shared a video of Liberal Senator Alex Antic titled “Moira Deeming did nothing wrong”.
Beyond those, many in the anti-government, anti-COVID-19 restriction freedom movement — who are increasingly pivoting to anti-LGBTQIA+ activism as the pandemic becomes a less salient issue — also shared outrage about the proposed expulsion.
Anti-vaccine group Reignite Australia Democracy, anti-vaxxer and former solicitor Serene Teffaha, and anti-lockdown activist-turned-right-wing social media influencer Diogo Correa have all criticised the decision.
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