Parliament protest couple fighting to keep names secret

A Tākaka couple facing charges relating to the final day of the protest occupation of Wellington’s Parliament grounds are fighting to keep their names secret.

The couple appeared in the Nelson District Court on Monday.

The 29-year-old man faces charges of intentional damage and doing a dangerous act with intent, while the 29-year-old woman is charged with doing a dangerous act with intent and rioting.

Both were remanded without pleas, and the case will be transferred to the Wellington District Court, where the couple have engaged a lawyer.

The charges follow searches conducted in Golden Bay last week that resulted in a number of arrests, including of a 50-year-old man who is facing charges of assault with a weapon, doing a dangerous act with intent, and rioting. Police confirmed that the man’s charges were related to fires set on Parliament grounds.

The Tākaka couple’s duty lawyer, Ian Miller, requested interim name suppression while their lawyer examined the evidence for the case.

‘‘The public exposure they face in the interim will constitute some fairly significant hardship,’’ Miller said.

Judge Jo Rielly granted the temporary suppression, which will be reviewed at the next hearing on June 13.

The couple’s bail conditions forbid them for participating in any protest activity or attending gatherings of three or more people for the purpose of encouraging non-compliance with the current Covid-19 public health measures.

Hundreds of protesters took over Parliament grounds and nearby streets in central Wellington during the 23-day occupation between February 7 and March 2.

It began as a protest against vaccine mandates, but was soon marred with escalating violence and conspiracy theories, and it turned into a Covid-19 ‘‘super-spreader’’ event.