NOT GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES

Sean Brandon was a member of a group of anti-mandate protestors who clashed with police at Caneland Central Shopping Centre on January 22. He said there was never any intent by the group for the protest to get physical.

“We always stipulated prior to any rally that the protests were to be peaceful. Violence is counter to our agenda,” Mr Brandon said.

“We have the right to peaceful protest.”

 Mr Brandon, a teacher for more than 25years, was stood down after Queensland Government’s COVID vaccination mandate prevented him from teaching because he chose not to get vaccinated.

“I was stood down without pay, but was in limbo because technically I wasn’t unemployed, so I couldn’t get social security.

“I had more than 700 hours accrued of long service leave that I was denied.

“You become a teacher for altruistic reasons, because you genuinely believe you can have a positive impact on the lives of others, it’s certainly not for the pay. So when this happened I felt betrayed, like all I had done, all the extra hours I had put in were for nothing,” he said. 

Mr Brandon’s choice to not get vaccinated is one he stands by, despite the great financial and emotional cost to him and his family.

“Sovereignty over our own bodies is the greatest fundamental right we have.

“I have done my own research and believe the vaccination is experimental and detrimental to our health.

“The evidence about diminished efficacy coming from Pfizer’s own studies should be enough for anyone to realise this is not a safe or effective vaccine, but more importantly, I should have the right to choose that for myself. 

“I went through hell. But I believe inaction is every bit as bad as doing the wrong thing.

“We’ve become complacent as a society and many of us are too scared to stand up for what we believe in, for fear of having our livelihoods taken away.

“Is this the Australia or the world we want for our children?”

After being stood down, Sean formed friendships with other people who felt the same way he did about the COVID vaccination mandates. He attended rallies with Mackay’s ‘Rally for Freedom’ group as a way of standing up for what he believed in.

“The day that we ended up at Canelands, no one really knew where we were heading, so there was no malicious intent as far as I’m aware of,” Mr Brandon said.

“We felt that the majority of the media weren’t interested in hearing what we had to say, so we wanted to take our message to more people.

“I was at the back of the group and some had already entered Canelands.

“Suddenly, around three police cars rolled up and I saw police running into the crowd. They had blocked the door and prevented us from entering when members of the group questioned why they weren’t allowed access to enter and protest,” he said.

Mr Brandon saw people he knew being handled in what he described as excessive use of force by the police.

“A military veteran with PTSD was pepper sprayed at close distance, simply for questioning whose authority was preventing the group from entering,” Mr Brandon said.

“Another man I saw was grabbed around the throat and forced backwards onto the ground.

“I saw a senior sergeant knee another man savagely to the ground.

“I couldn’t in good conscience stand idly by and do nothing when I could see people in distress.

“In my attempt to get a police officer off one of the protestors, I knocked his cap off his head.

“I have a badly damaged knee that needs replacement and I was wearing a brace that day. The police officer targeted that leg in an attempt to force me onto the ground. He later described that action in court as an approved knee strike.”

Mr Brandon was arrested and charged with three offences, obstructing police, being a public nuisance and serious assault of a police officer.

He described his time in the police watchhouse as humiliating and painful.

“I was placed in detention in the cells, where the damage inflicted on my leg worsened, to the point I couldn’t stand,” he said.

“I asked for water, to which a police officer responded along the lines of it being ironic that I assaulted a police officer and now I’m asking for a glass of water.

“After more than three hours I was released, I couldn’t walk so I asked for a hand up off the concrete floor, they refused and told me I could crawl. So, I did.

“I received a hand up at reception where I had to stand to sign some paperwork. I was handed my shoes and put out on the street. I had no money and no phone. I had to shuffle to a taxi to plead with the driver to take me home so I could pay them upon arrival.

“The duty of care was non-existent,” Mr Brandon said.

Almost six months later, Mr Brandon got his day in court where he said, “Justice was done”.

“It was an important precedent to be set and I hope it encourages other people to have the courage to stand up for their rights,” he said.

“It was a measured and compassionate ruling where many police inaccuracies were called out.

“There are times in your life you will be challenged beyond measure. This was one of those times for me, and I’m standing on the right side of history.

“What credibility would I have, if at the first hurdle I gave in?

“I can stand in front of a classroom of students and not be a hypocrite.

“Truth and justice was upheld.”

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Members from the Rally for Freedom Mackay group celebrated Sean Brandon’s acquittal after being found not guilty on all charges following his arrest at Caneland Central in January. Photos supplied

Christine Keys and Sean Brandon with Sean’s celebration cake

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