- A video of an Australian woman's arrest for promoting an anti-lockdown protest on Facebook has been shared widely online.
- Zoe-Lee Buhler, who is pregnant, was arrested by Victoria Police on Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
- Victoria is under a strict lockdown that forbids large gatherings, according to The Guardian.
- Legal experts and human rights campaigners have condemned the arrest, but police officials have said that the officers acted properly, according to multiple reports.
- Victoria police had earlier warned that anyone encouraging the breach of the lockdown faced arrest, The Age reported.
- Buhler has since apologized for the post but says she plans to challenge the charge, 7 News reported.
Video of a pregnant Australian woman's arrest after promoting an anti-lockdown protest on Facebook has circulated widely online.
28-year-old Zoe-Lee Buhler was at home in her pajamas with her partner and children when Victoria police arrested and handcuffed her on Wednesday, the BBC reported. A police officer told Buhler she was being arrested for "incitement."
Much of the exchange was captured on a video taken by her partner.
"My two kids are here, I have an ultrasound appointment in an hour, and I'm happy to delete the post," she said, adding: "This is ridiculous." Later, she began to cry. Her computer and devices were also seized.
Victoria Police's Assistant Commissioner admitted the optics of the arrest were "terrible," but defended it, saying the officers had acted properly and had been polite and professional, Australian TV site News.com reported.
Victoria went into a strict "Stage 3" lockdown on August 6, as a coronavirus second wave saw case numbers climb higher than the first wave. Under the lockdown, people can only leave the house for limited purposes such as shopping for essentials, caregiving, work, and exercise, according to The Guardian.
Victoria Police had warned on Monday that it would make arrests for anyone organizing protests in breach of the lockdown, The Age reported. One protest, billed as "Freedom Day," planned for the coming Saturday, aimed at an attendance of half a million people, the paper reported.
—Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) September 2, 2020
The Victorian Bar has criticized Buhler's arrest as overly heavy-handed, The Guardian reported. Human Rights Watch
"Arresting people pre-emptively for the act of organizing peaceful protests or for social media posts is something that happens all too often under authoritarian regimes, and it should not be happening in a democracy like Australia," she said.
A screenshot of the Facebook event, which Business Insider could not confirm as genuine, described the intended protest as "peaceful" and socially-distanced, with mask-wearing, encouraged.
Buhler has since apologized for the post, saying she had no idea she was breaking the law, in comments made to reporters outside her home, 7 News reported.
"I wanted to feel like I was standing up for human rights," the channel reported her as saying. "I had a bit of a bimbo moment."
However, she also said she wants to fight the charge, the channel reported.