Many of the protesters were hippies who thought the vaccine was a plot by international drug companies. Others were Māori activists for whom the government’s Covid response was a breach of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Tokoroa chapter of the Mongrel Mob were there, along with several evangelical churches whose members could often be seen kneeling and praying and speaking in tongues.
The Hare Krishnas were there serving vegetarian food and teaching yoga. There were farmers, Instagram influencers, rough sleepers, QAnon activists. All these groups combined and occupied the lawns and forecourt of Wellington’s Parliament grounds last February.
They set up tents, filled the surrounding streets with camper vans, built makeshift showers and public toilets, tore up the sprinkler system when Parliament’s
