Federal Senator Lydia Thorpe was moved by police from the Sydney Mardi Gras parade after footage showed her lying on the street and temporarily stopping the parade.
In a video of the incident posted to social media, the independent Indigenous senator can be seen lying on his back in front of a truck on Oxford Street during Saturday night’s parade.
Two policemen then approached Senator Thorpe as the crowd began to boo.
“Get rid of her!” Get rid of her,” a man in the crowd chanted during the incident.
She then got to her feet and can be seen talking to the police and the Mardi Gras team.
“At around 9pm last night, a woman was lying in front of the Oxford Street platform, momentarily blocking the progress of the parade,” New South Wales Police told AAP on Sunday.
“Later, she was removed from the parade at the request of the organizers for violating the terms of participation.”
Senator Thorpe tweeted about her appearance at Mardi Gras.
She said she was proud to have joined the Pride in Protest.
“Black and brown trans women started the first pride march to protest police violence. Today, we still face police violence.”
A spokesman for the Sydney Mardi Gras confirmed that the parade was interrupted by Senator Thorpe when she tried to stage a protest.
“While we respect the human right to protest, interrupting the parade in this way has serious implications for the safety of our participants and spectators,” the spokesperson said.