'I’ll take this to the end': Protest shower block man Colin Wightman says police stole it
Tuesday, 1 March 2022
The man behind a hot water shower block at the Parliament anti-mandate protest claims police committed theft in removing it.
The shower unit, built into a trailer, was parked in Stout St on Sunday night and used by protesters on Monday. Police removed it under cover of darkness on Tuesday using a forklift.
Tyres on five police cars parked near the occupation site were later found deflated.
A police statement confirmed the showers had been removed during a 50-minute operation.
Wightman, who laid a formal complaint with police on Tuesday, said police had “essentially” stolen a private asset.
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“It was parked in a legal parking spot on Stout St. They vandalised it as well. They broke four of the five windows, and then they proceeded to lift it dangerously.
“It’s been a big effort on my part and to have it stolen last night is pretty disgusting.”
The gas powered shower unit sourced its water from the nearby university building and used a grey water outlet, Wightman said.
“It was nothing to do with council because the university pay their rates. It was all above board and plugged in by registered tradespeople.”
About 200 or 300 people had used the unit in about 24 hours, he said.
“They came out of that shower unit with a massive beam on their face. Absolute pleasure.
“It was designed to help people clean themselves given that there were rumours that a bit of Omicron was around. They’ve taken away a sanitation unit.”
If the criminal complaint was dismissed he would take civil action, no matter what the cost.
“I’ll take this to the end,” he said.
“I feel dangerous. I feel that I’m fully committed now, 110 percent. I’m fighting for the future of this country. Essentially we have a Government dictatorship operating that has control of the police even though they deny it.”
Wightman has been a frequent figure at the so-called freedom marches and protests in Christchurch over recent months.
He was not affiliated to any particular group, he said, but was connected with nearly every freedom group in Canterbury.
“I’m not a nutter. I don’t belong to any one-sided groups.
“My job is to support those who are brave enough to be involved in this fight against tyranny and to unite the groups together… I’ve always been on the good side of good.”
He had a love-hate relationship with Destiny Church’s pastor in Christchurch, Derek Tait, whom he considered a brave man who ran a good protest.
“I try to give him some good advice. He listens, but doesn’t like to. We are at arms length. I don’t get cosy with any particular person.”
Wightman, who was involved in the racing industry for 25 years, is the owner of three companies but is mostly occupied in building tiny homes.
He led a march to Parliament in 2020 to protest about the regulation of tiny homes which he believes are a temporary fix to the housing crisis.
He owns several properties including about 28ha in Sefton in North Canterbury.
Wightman believed Prime Minister Ardern was carrying out a United Nations agenda of communism and depopulation, he said.
People had been brainwashed by the World Economic Forum, he said, and were programmed to carry out the agenda of some very sick and evil people such as the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds and Bill Gates. (There is no factual basis for these claims.)
CLARIFICATIONS: An earlier version of this story said the tyres on police cars had been slashed. A later media release from police clarified the tyres had been let down. (March 1, 9.05pm). The final sentence was added in line with Stuff’s policy of debunking false information (March 2, 6.30am).