Hannah Thomas, a former Greens candidate who contested the Prime Minister in the 2022 federal election, is set to challenge charges related to her participation in an allegedly unauthorised protest. The incident occurred on June 27 at SEC Plating in Sydney’s south-west, where she sustained a serious eye injury during her arrest.
The 35-year-old has been charged with hindering police and two counts of refusing to obey move-on directions. During a recent court hearing at Bankstown Local Court, her lawyer, Stewart O’Connell, entered a plea of not guilty on her behalf. Thomas did not attend the hearing.
Prosecutors from the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions have assumed control of the case, which was previously handled by police. Thomas, also a lawyer and activist, was one of five individuals taken into custody during the protest, aimed at highlighting SEC Plating’s alleged involvement in supplying parts for US fighter jets used by the Israeli military.
The police actions during the protest and subsequent arrests are under review, with external oversight from a police watchdog, following Thomas’s eye injury that necessitated surgery. Other arrested protesters, including Zachary Schofield, Shane Reside, Brandon Eid, and Holly Zhang, all pleaded not guilty to a range of charges. Zhang and Schofield face charges related to police compliance, while Reside has been charged with using offensive language and Eid with larceny.
Thomas’s legal team is also considering a civil lawsuit against the state, citing various grievances, including assault and false imprisonment. Her lawyer, Peter O’Brien, suggested that she might experience permanent vision loss in her injured eye and contended that video evidence shows her being punched by a male officer during the arrest.
O’Brien further claimed that the police misapplied the law in issuing move-on directions, which he argued should not justify the charges of resisting police. Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden of NSW Police has stated that he did not observe any misconduct in the body camera footage of the incident, and the officers involved continue to serve.
Following the incident, protesters returned to SEC Plating for another rally, where a statement from Thomas was delivered, calling for increased activism against companies implicated in the military supply chain that supports the Israeli government.
Overall, this case highlights the intensifying tensions surrounding protests linked to political and social causes in Australia, particularly concerning international conflicts.