'It is nasty here today': Inside the Counterspin court protest in Christchurch

Wednesday, 31 August 2022

Sina Brown-Davis, of Anti-Fascists Aotearoa, says a group were outside the Christchurch courthouse on Wednesday to show solidarity with the Muslim community.

“It is nasty here today,” a policeman comments as Counterspin supporters jeer at a group of counter protesters on the steps of Christchurch’s courts.

Amid the mainly middle-aged, 100-strong crowd, a few shout racist and homophobic words, goading those trying to make a peaceful stand against hate speech and misinformation.

It is unpleasant but Sina Brown-Davis carries on reading a message from Rafiqah Abdullah as the 25-strong Anti-Fascists Aotearoa group around her hold their banner.

“Be vigilant,” she says, raising her voice as the shouting gets louder. “There are no lone wolves. This is not the past. This is happening in our present.”

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White supremacist Philip Arps outside the Christchurch District Court in support of Counterspin founders Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer.

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Meanwhile, as he has all morning, white supremacist Philip Arps stalks the precinct, smiling in between shouting insults at the group. Within half an hour of supporters gathering, Arps was shouting out a homophobic insult to someone entering the court.

Members of the Gloriavale Christian Community enter the Christchurch District Court among Counterspin supporters, police and court security.

Women titter, and comment how Arps is hilarious, when he tries to rip down an LGBTQIA-inspired flag the group holds.

A Counterspin supporter talks to a police officer outside the Christchurch District Court.

“Oh he is a funny man,” one says – despite Arps spending almost two years in prison for sending a video of the mosque killings to 30 people and asking a friend to modify it by adding cross-hairs and a “kill count”. Not to mention the severed pig’s head he delivered to Masjid An-Nur (Al-Noor) mosque in 2016.

A man can be heard telling a woman that media have got it wrong about Counterspin. No-one spouts hate ideologies, he says. Arps talks to Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer as they stand outside a black SUV.

Carl Bromley outside the Christchurch District Court, where he was supporting Counterspin founders Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer.

One banner targets the media. STUFF.Con it reads. Others have photoshopped Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern into a Nazi costume.

In a surreal moment, members of the Gloriavale community file past to get to the Employment Court.

Sina Brown-Davis, of Anti-Fascists Aotearoa, who gathered outside the Christchurch courthouse on Wednesday to show solidarity with the Muslim community.

Any media members who come close to the protesters are abused and heckled as the chatter of the early morning breaks away into something darker.

An older man, who has travelled overnight to be present, talks about why the pair have ended up in court, before sharing a conspiracy theory about the March 15 terror attack.

Those around him nod their heads and add their own version of events.

Many speak about the need to unify all the groups – and how those groups and farming group Groundswell together could overthrow the Government.

There is talk of jail and punishment for those they despise, and the rhetoric amps up during the speeches.

Mayoral hopeful and anti-government conspiracist Carl Bromley yells something to the counter-protest group but it is inaudible. He has been promoting Counterspin’s protest and films an interview with the pair not long after a conversation with Arps.

A fake police siren plays over and over as Brown-Davis tries to speak. .

Up from Dunedin to support the newly formed Christchurch branch of Anti-Fascists Aotearoa, Brown-Davis reassures new members over a cup of tea.

Later inside the court the pair at the centre of the protest sit without masks at the back of the courtroom. Hannah Spierer looks nervous as she clutches a black folder in her hand but Kelvyn Alp seems uninterested. .

It is a scene in itself as they refuse to stand in the dock. Eventually police take them forcibly but Spierer resists, her feet dragging along the floor as she reads from a prepared statement.

Within minutes, they are shuffled out the courtroom, while outside, speeches laden with misinformation continue. Alp faces the media first and states: “You guys don’t like us and we don’t like you”.

“This is only act one,” he says as everyone begins to disperse.

* CORRECTION: Rafiqah Abdullah’s message was read on her behalf by Sina Brown-Davis, rather than by Abdullah herself. (Amended 9.25am, September 1, 2022.)