By Gerard Gill
Introduction
The Porepunkah shootings in the Australian state of Victoria have ignited a wave of conspiracy theories and rhetoric, with many in online communities framing the accused killer, Dezi Freeman, as a hero and martyr of the Freedom Movement. Freeman has become the subject of various commentaries, including claims of government persecution, false flag operations, and comparisons to historical figures like Ned Kelly. Unlike the relatively muted response to the Wieambilla shootings in Queensland, Freeman’s well-documented history within the Sovereign Citizen movement and his pseudolegal activism have provided fertile ground for conspiracist narratives. This post examines how Freeman’s story has been assimilated into movement lore, the themes emerging in online discussions, and the broader implications for Australia’s conspiracist subcultures in the wake of this violent event. The data was collected as part of ongoing research and data collection from conspiracist Facebook groups, of which there are many.
Murder in Porepunkah
In August 2025, 10 Victorian police officers descended on the property of Dezi Freeman to execute a search warrant related to a historic sex crimes investigation. This large contingent was deemed necessary after a risk assessment that proved to be apt – within minutes of arriving and after a hail of gunfire, two officers were dead, and Freeman had fled into the Victorian wilderness. As of publication, he is still unaccounted for, an experienced wilderness survivor with knowledge of the area superior to that of his pursuers, who are engaging in a massive manhunt.
It took little time before comparisons were being made between the event and a previous incident in Wieambilla, Queensland, which left six people dead including the three assailants – religious conspiracy theorists with a hatred for police similar to Freeman’s. People in Wieambilla noted the similarities – a small town well-suited for hiding from the world, a visit from police, and an explosion of murderous violence.
In online conspiracist circles, however, reactions to the two events have been markedly different. Whereas the response to Wieambilla was relatively muted – characterised mostly by denial or simply ignoring any associations the killers may have had with the ‘Freedom Movement’ – the case of Dezi Freeman has been assimilated into movement lore, in the form of various theories and rhetoric that cast the accused killer as a hero and martyr.
The Free Man
There are several likely reasons for the different response by conspiracists to Freeman’s story, based essentially on the availability of information with which to theorise. Unlike the Trains of Wieambilla infamy, who were previously relatively unknown, Freeman has a fairly large historical media footprint and well documented ideology.
Born Desmond Christopher Filby, Freeman changed his name to Dezi Bird Freeman, Freeman being a common adopted surname in the Sovereign Citizen movement within in which he is commonly implicated. He appeared in a Nine News report in 2018 in the context of a dispute with neighbours over noise and other complaints. Later he was involved in altercations where he used pseudolegal argumentation and attempted to arrest a magistrate, a police officer, and then-Premier Daniel Andrews – such behaviour being typical of some more belligerent Sovereign Citizens.
Sovereign Citizen or pseudolaw ideology has had a presence in Australia dating back to its emergence in the United States, in the 1960s and 70s. However, the movement came into its own during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many more people being drawn to conspiracism, often online. While most adherents will remain non-violent, the movement’s hostility towards all incumbent government has obvious violent potential – seen in Australia in cases such as Freeman’s and a recent threat to kill the Prime Minister. Furthermore, like the Trains Freeman’s religiosity had become more apocalyptic and millenarian, with talk of the Antichrist and End Times.
Themes and theories on Facebook
Within conspiracist groups on Facebook, various theories are being posited about Freeman and Porepunkah. In a prepper group where Freeman was once active, various accounts are relayed about the circumstances leading up to the shooting and his alleged persecution by authorities and community figures. A group admin writes that there ‘was an ongoing local conflict with the wrong people high up in our local community and will not end well… He’s been pushed over the edge and retaliated…’ A poster claiming to be a friend of Freeman similarly claims that he was ‘harassed by police and social services’ for choosing to homeschool his children and not to have them vaccinated.
Similarly, posters are quick to link the events to the legal proceedings Freeman had attempted against former Premier Dan Andrews:
‘To everyone following this… He was targeted by police for a court case he had I think it was today against Dan Andrews. For corruption and everything during COVID apparently. He was targeted. He may not even have killed those cops. 10 cops and no body cam footage.’
This framing of Dezi Freeman as a hero and/or martyr of the Freedom Movement continues with comparisons to Ned Kelly, with a poster drawing parallels wherein Kelly killed police officers and is considered as a hero by many. Other posts claim that the shooting may not have happened at all or was a false flag event providing a pretext to suppress the movement in the lead-up to the anti-immigration ‘March for Australia’ rally. Said rally occurred shortly after the events in Porepunkah, and among the participants (which included Nazis, conspiracists, and right-wing politicians), a man was arrested for wielding a placard depicting Freeman with the word ‘Free Man’ written below his likeness.
While more caution was subsequently urged in the prepper group in question – suggesting posters be careful discussing ‘a certain hide-and-seek champion’ after several individuals were visited by police – elsewhere similar theorising occurred. The false flag theory was extended to compare the events to the Christchurch massacre, also considered a manufactured event to exert control against the far right. A typical post reads:
‘WE ARE PATRIOTIC, LAW ABIDING AUSTRALIANS WHO BELIEVE IN TRUTH AND FREEDOM. WE ARE THE ONES DEMANDING THAT POLICE FOLLOW THE LAW AND ARREST THE TRAITORS IN GOVERNMENT.
PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA, IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE YOUR NATION STOLEN FROM UNDER YOU, YOU NEED TO START RESEARCHING AND SPEAKING OUT.
WE ARE LOSING OUR NATION AND IT IS BEING HANDED OVER TO FOREIGN OWNED CORPORATIONS THAT WILL FORCE YOU TO LIVE IN SLAVERY.
OUR POLITICIANS ARE DELIBERATELY BANKRUPTING OUR NATION USING FAKE PANDEMICS, FOREIGN AID, AND A MULTITUDE OF OTHER FRAUDS. WHEN THIS DEBT TO THE BANKSTERS CANNOT BE REPAID BY YOUR TAXES, THEY WILL COME FOR EVERYTHING YOU OWN.
DEZI WAS EXPOSING THIS.’
Conclusion and future prospects
In the aftermath of the killings in Porepunkah, authorities have understandably been paying renewed attention to sovereign citizens in Australia – a double-edged sword as such attention is almost certain to aggravate paranoia and hostility within the conspiracist milieu. Actions such as raids and confiscation of illegally-owned firearms may prevent specific risks of violence but also serve to deepen grievances. In the meantime, the conspiracist mindset behind events such as Porepunkah continues unabated. The framing of events such as Porepunkah and their assimilation into extremist narratives highlights the social fragmentation and alienation taking place in Australian communities. Addressing this will require more than law enforcement, it will require deep investment into regaining trust and social connection.
Gerard Gill is an independent researcher and analyst with a doctorate from Curtin University’s School for Human Rights Education. His current research focuses on the far right and conspiracism in Australia.
Gerard has consulted on various projects, including advising the eSafety Commissioner on the Online Safety Act 2021 and working as researcher on a program for the Department of Home Affairs. He is a member of the Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism (AVERT) research network at Deakin University.
Image credit: Brett Jordan on Unsplash