Latest news with #MelbourneCrimeInvestigationUnit
Sky News AU
09-07-2025
- Sky News AU
Three people charged over the storming of Jewish restaurant Miznon in the heart of Melbourne on Friday evening
Three people have been charged after 20 masked protesters allegedly stormed a popular Jewish restaurant in Melbourne on Friday night. The group of pro-Palestine activists allegedly ambushed shocked diners and staff at the Miznon restaurant on Hardware Lane about 8.15pm after splitting from a larger protest on Swanston Street. Police allege several of them were then involved in an altercation, with chairs being thrown, tables overturned and the restaurant's glass door damaged. Detectives from the Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit carried out a series of search warrants in connection with the incident on Tuesday, arresting three people at separate locations in Essendon, Footscray and Richmond. All three have been charged with assault, affray, riotous behaviour and criminal damage. A 48-year-old woman from Footscray and a 28-year-old woman from Essendon were both bailed and will appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on 25 September. A 50-year-old man from Richmond, Arnold Antwany, was presented to Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday evening and was denied bail. The prosecution told the court Mr Antwany was on bail at the time, having allegedly threatened to kill a member of the public who asked him to stop playing pro-Palestinian messages through a loudspeaker at a protest in April. The magistrate pointed out one of the 50-year-old's bail conditions was to not attend the CBD from April 14, and yet he had now 'come into the city and deliberately and intentionally engage in protest of a racial nature,' The Australian reported the magistrate as saying. The court heard that Mr Antwany had a verbal confrontation with a patron at Miznon and threw a chair in their direction. The magistrate told the alleged offender that 'such behaviour adds fuel to the fire for further… racial and abusive behaviour in the community'. The arrests come after the state government launched an anti-hate taskforce bringing together senior government ministers, Victoria Police, and representatives from the Jewish community. Victoria Police has been criticised for its handling of the protest that preceded the confrontation at the Miznon restaurant, with reports indicating they were told not to confront the protesters. Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has ordered a review into the force's handling of the incident. Police are continuing to investigate the Hardware Lane incident and are encouraging anyone with information about those involved to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online at
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Missing head from King's statue appears with Kneecap during Australia gig
THE decapitated head of a King George V statue in Australia has seemingly reappeared during a Kneecap gig in Australia. A social media post by the hip hop trio Kneecap, known for their Irish republican views and use of Gaelic lyrics, showed what appeared to be the solid bronze severed head of King George V during their Melbourne gig last week. The statue, which is homed in the King's Domain parklands, was beheaded during the King's Birthday Weekend in June last year. It was reported by local media that the statue was decapitated as part of a series of anti-colonial acts of protest targeting British monarch memorials in Melbourne. READ MORE: Sweeping UK benefit cuts 'do not equal austerity', Anas Sarwar insists Kneecap band members Mo Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai, shared a picture on their social media of them performing with what appears to be the missing head. 'Well well a chairde Gael [my Irish friends]! Some madman dropped by with a huge King George's head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!' the post on social media read. 'Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city..…anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away…remember every colony can fall.' According to local reports Victoria police have been searching for the head since June, when it was removed from the 2.7m high solid bronze statue of King George V. In Melbourne, a statue of John Batman, founder of the country's second-largest city who was involved in the killing of Aboriginal people, was also found sawed in half. Meanwhile, in Canberra, the words 'The colony is falling' were graffitied on a statue of King George V. A statement from Melbourne police regarding Kneecap's concert said: 'Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives continue to investigate damage to a statue in Kings Domain last year. 'Investigators are also aware that the head from what appears to be a statue appeared at a concert in Melbourne on 14 March. Detectives will investigate whether there is any link between the two incidents.'
The Independent
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Missing head of a King George V statue appears with Kneecap during Australia gig
The mystery of the decapitated head of a King George V statue has resurfaced after it surprisingly appeared during a Kneecap gig in Melbourne, Australia. Kneecap, the outspoken and political hip-hop group from Belfast who won rave reviews for their truth-adjacent biopic, are currently on tour in Australia, with the incident fittingly occurring over St Patrick's Day weekend. The band – which is made up of members Mo Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai – shared an image of the statue's head on Instagram. In the caption, they wrote: 'Well well a chairde Gael! Some madman dropped by with a huge King George's head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show! 'Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city... anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away… remember every colony can fall.' The statue was decapitated and defaced in June 2024 amid a wave of anti-colonial vandalism in Australia. It briefly reappeared in an Instagram video posted in January 2025 where the head had been set on fire on a barbecue, and has remained missing since – until now. Several historic statues were damaged in Melbourne and Canberra ahead of the Australia Day celebrations in January this year, as protests around the country showed support for Indigenous people who do not consider it a day to celebrate. In Melbourne, a statue of John Batman, founder of the country's second-largest city who was involved in the killing of Aboriginal people, was found sawed in half. The words 'Land back' were spray-painted on a memorial for Australian soldiers who died fighting in World War I. Meanwhile, in Canberra, the words 'The colony is falling' were graffitied on a statue of King George V. 'Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives continue to investigate damage to a statue in Kings Domain last year,' read a statement from Melbourne police in regards to the Kneecap concert. 'Investigators are also aware that the head from what appears to be a statue appeared at a concert in Melbourne on 14 March. Detectives will investigate whether there is any link between the two incidents.' This news follows after Kneecap won their legal challenge over a decision by former business secretary Kemi Badenoch to refuse them a £14,250 funding award. The UK government was forced to concede the decision was 'unlawful'. The band had launched legal action claiming the decision to refuse the grant discriminated against them on the grounds of nationality and political opinion.
New York Times
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Special St. Patrick's Day Guest: the Head of King George V
The irreverent, unrepentantly political Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap welcomed a special guest onto the stage of its show in Melbourne, Australia, over St. Patrick's Day weekend: the head of King George V, which appeared to be a missing piece of a statue that was decapitated in the city last year. 'Some madman dropped by with a huge King George's head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!' the group posted on Instagram, alongside a photograph of the enormous bronze face onstage in front of one of the group members, Mo Chara. It was the latest twist in a monthslong mystery, after a towering statue of King George V in the King's Domain area of Melbourne was decapitated and vandalized with paint last June, part of a wave of anticolonial vandalism that targeted imperial statues across the state of Victoria. The missing head seemed to briefly reappear in January, when a video posted on Instagram showed it on a barbecue grill, lit on fire. But it has been missing, again, ever since. 'Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city..…anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away,' the group wrote in its post. 'Remember every colony can fall 🔥'. Kneecap — a trio composed of the West Belfast musicians Mo Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai — has raucously burst into the mainstream over the past year with a critically acclaimed, truth-adjacent biopic. The group is known for its high-volume Republican politics and gleefully inebriated shows, in which its frontman, Bap, regularly appears shirtless and slugging from a bottle of Buckfast, the cheap tonic wine that is a universal Irish touchstone for a messy night out. Central to the group's ethos are anti-colonialist politics and promotion of the Indigenous language. Bap, Chara and DJ Provai perform in both Irish and English, and they have spoken often about the importance of promoting and preserving the Irish language, which was banned across the island during British occupation. The group has less courted controversy than brazenly promoted it: Around the same time that King George V's head was separated from the statue, the group tore through the British Museum in London, placing Kneecap-branded 'Stolen from Ireland' stickers on various artifacts. Kneecap did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The police in Melbourne confirmed that they were still investigating the decapitation of the statue and that they were aware of its possible recent weekend out. 'Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives continue to investigate damage to a statue in Kings Domain last year,' the police said in a statement. 'Investigators are also aware that the head from what appears to be a statue appeared at a concert in Melbourne on 14 March. Detectives will investigate whether there is any link between the two incidents.' The statue was decapitated last June during a holiday begun to celebrate the British king's birthday. Australia established itself as an independent commonwealth in 1901 and formally severed any remaining ties to Britain in 1986. It has a long connection to Ireland and Northern Ireland and is home to one of the island's most robust diasporas.
