Provocateur sparks Aussie protests
SYdnEY: Right-wing British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos blasted those who do not agree with him as “petulant babies” after violent protests in Australia.
The polarising former Breitbart editor is touring with his “The Troll Academy” speaking show.
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police and supporters of Yiannopoulos outside a supposedly secret venue in Melbourne on Monday night.
Television images showed officers working to keep the groups apart, but violence erupted. Police responded with pepper spray as rocks, glass bottles and sticks were thrown.
Five police were injured, though not seriously, and two protesters arrested.
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane described the protesters as leftists and accused them of using violence to get their message across.
“I’ve got no doubt part of their motivation last night was to get as much as they could splashed around the world and feel famous for five minutes,” he said, slamming the waste of resources needed to keep them in check.
Yiannopoulos called the protesters “petulant babies”.
“There was a lot of kerfuffle out front,” he told 2GB commercial radio.
Yiannopoulos, a conservative firebrand and staunch fan of US President Donald Trump, resigned from right-wing news site Breitbart in February amid a storm triggered by comments in which he seemed to condone paedophilia.