Thread by @crazyjane13

Good morning folks. Time for another day of #DeemingvPesutto.

(Apologies for not tweeting yesterday - life annoyingly got in the way.)

Collins up with his opening submission.

Start by establishing the requirement for Liberal Party members to adhere to standards of diversity and inclusion, and to avoid division. Deeming knew this.
#DeemingvPesutto

Nonetheless Deeming became involved - without Pesutto's knowledge - in organising KJK's rally.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Deeming took no steps to discern whether an association with KJK would bring discredit upon the party, the Parliament, or Deeming herself. That evidence was easily available. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins now giving a few examples of how easily Deeming could have found the info that KJK associated with, shall we say, highly questionable people. #DeemingvPesutto

Example: an article in the Courier-Mail explaining KJK's links with Proud Boys, a white supremacist and a Holocaust denier. #DeemingvPesutto

Another article, in the West Australian, references KJK's association with white supremacists and allowing a speaker at her rally to quote Hitler. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins points out that an impression might have been given by the trial thus far that it's an unfair dismissal claim. It's not, it's defamation.

That's a slap to the evidence submitted thus far by Deeming. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: anyone could have done a very basic search and discovered these public links between KJK and far right extremists. #DeemingvPesutto

Now playing a video, and unfortunately the audio is nonexistent.

From the transcript: KJK says that transness is a paraphilia, and linked to paedophilia.
#DeemingvPesutto

Judge: transsexualism and transgenderism is not a sexual practice.

Thank you, judge.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Deeming was aware of the potential for violence at the rally, and took steps to engage extra security.

She did not tell Pesutto or anyone in the Liberal leadership team about the threats. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Deeming was warned via social media prior to the rally of KJK's associations with far right extremists.
#DeemingvPesutto

Example: a tweet exchange between a user warning Deeming and Deeming's response, dated 17/3/23 (day before the rally). #DeemingvPesutto

Collins reminds the judge that Deeming had testified she *didn't* have any knowledge of KJK's links with far right extremists prior to the rally, and had to admit under cross-examination that she had been wrong. #DeemingvPesutto

Later in the same twitter thread, Deeming is alerted to KJK's link to neo-Nazi Gariepy.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins now giving the judge a lesson in realpolitik. In a system of mandatory voting, one must attract as many voters from the centre as possible, and that means not associating with extremism. #DeemingvPesutto

By 12.07pm on the day of the rally, at least one of the organisers knew "fascists" were present.
#DeemingvPesutto

At 12.20pm, Deeming was told by police that "a fairly large group" of right-wing protesters had arrived and was agitating the left-wing counter protesters. #DeemingvPesutto

At about 12.30pm, the NSN performed a Nazi salute on the steps of Parliament while standing next to KJK's rally. #DeemingvPesutto

Oooh! Collins says it "is of course curious" that the police were all facing the counter protesters and had their backs to the neo Nazis.

Curious, indeed.
#DeemingvPesutto

Now playing a video of Thomas Sewell spewing hate while he and his cronies are lined up on the steps of Parliament. #DeemingvPesutto

It's worth noting that you can clearly hear someone else attempting to speak through a megaphone while Sewell is ranting. Presumably this is someone from KJK's rally. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Sewell's rant equated trans folk with paedophiles, which was what KJK had said in one of her videos. And that trans folk had "infiltrated" all Australian institutions, which Catherine Deves also said in the "champagne" video. #DeemingvPesutto

The judge questions whether it's a long bow to draw between Sewell's rant and KJK/Deves' sentiments.

Collins replies that it was Deeming's duty to clearly and unequivocally denounce all such views. #DeemingvPesutto

The judge is a bit bewildered by the police's behaviour at the 18/3/23 rally.

Welcome to our world, judge. We'd all like to know what justification the police have for acting as they did.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins points out that Deeming was visibly shocked by watching the footage of the NSN on Parliament steps and their hateful rant.

This was footage SHE had provided, but had apparently never seen. #DeemingvPesutto

Colllins: the NSN's banner was clearly calling for the destruction of trans folk, as established by the conflation of trans folk with child abusers. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: the NSN saw what had occurred as a triumph.

He shows an article on the XYZ website - the NSN's mouthpiece. #DeemingvPesutto

The XYZ article states that the NSN acted as a "vanguard" and "protected" the KJK rally-goers. #DeemingvPesutto

All of this was in the public domain as of 18/3/23.
#DeemingvPesutto

The volume of material in the public domain increased markedly, leading to a high public awareness well before Pesutto made any public statements. #DeemingvPesutto

We're now seeing examples of how quickly the news about the neo-Nazis, and commentary linking Deeming with them, spread on social media.

For example, 5 tweets in 12 minutes directly responding to Deeming.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins: there were hundreds of messages already out there long before Pesutto said anything.

This goes directly to causation. Pesutto didn't initiate anything. #DeemingvPesutto

The rally continued. Deeming didn't leave the rally, and no one (including Deeming) denounced the NSN.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Southwick called Deeming that afternoon and told her to immediately put out a statement denouncing the NSN and distancing herself from them.

Deeming was "at best non-committal", saying she would talk to KJK. #DeemingvPesutto

Now showing an article from 4.06pm on 18/3/23, which talks about the Nazi presence and supplies two images - one of the Nazi salute, and one of KJK and Deeming. The article repeats the now "public narrative" that the Nazis were there to support KJK. #DeemingvPesutto

At around the same time as the article, members of major parties put out public statements denouncing what had happened. For example, describing "the ugly alliance between neo-Nazis and anti-trans bullies". #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: by the evening of 18/3/23, Deeming's reputation had suffered very serious damage as a result of her conduct in organising and attending the rally. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: none of this is due to Pesutto.
#DeemingvPesutto

Now showing a tweet from 9.30pm on 18/3/23 explicitly linking Deeming's anti-trans stance and her apparent approval of the neo-Nazis to the Liberal Party. #DeemingvPesutto

Seeing some familiar names in these tweet examples of the public narrative out there on 18/3/23.

Shout out to my mutuals.
#DeemingvPesutto

We're now seeing tweet after tweet calling on Pesutto to take action against Deeming for her anti-trans activities and association with those who espouse far-right rhetoric, all in about a 2 hour period on the evening of 18/3/23. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Deeming then did two things on 18/3/23 to make the situation worse.

She tweeted a denunciation of Victoria Police's conduct, but did not denounce or dissociate herself from the Nazis. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: Deeming was reading her Twitter account throughout the day, and blocking users who had criticised her. She knew the public narrative was already out there. #DeemingvPesutto

And now the infamous tweet from Angie Jones, "Nazis and women want to get rid of paedo filth. Why don't you?"

It's at the end of a tweet exchange where Jones argues with someone sympathetic to trans rights. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins points out that Jones' tweet used the same language as the Nazi video.

So an organiser of the rally explicitly associated herself with Nazi sentiments *after* the NSN turned up at Parliament. #DeemingvPesutto

The second thing Deeming did on the evening after the rally to make things worse was participate in the "champagne" video.

She was dismissive of the effect of the Nazi presence. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: In the "champagne" video, Deeming at no point calls out or puts a stop to absurd conspiracy theories about trans rights activists disguising themselves as Nazis or trans folk "infiltrating" Australian institutions.
#DeemingvPesutto

Collins: on 19/3/23, there were many more complaints about the damage Deeming had done to the party, and demands that Pesutto take steps to expel Deeming immediately. #DeemingvPesutto

Collins: on 18/3/23, the Multicultural Gala was held at the MECC. It's a traditionally a-partisan event. On the day of the rally, Pesutto will claim that Andrews snubbed him, and criticised the rally and Nazi presence at the dinner.
#DeemingvPesutto

Pesutto will testify that in his speech to the Gala, he condemned the rally and Nazi presence but did NOT mention Deeming. #DeemingvPesutto

Pesutto received many text messages while at the Gala, from Louise Staley (MP at that time), alerting him to Deeming's involvement and urging him to expel her. #DeemingvPesutto

At 9.14pm on 18/3/23, Matthew Guy send a text to Pesutto affirming he would move an expulsion motion against Deeming if required. #DeemingvPesutto

Court is temporarily adjourned to allow the judge to take care of another matter.

#DeemingvPesutto

I'll close off the thread here, and start a new one when court resumes. #DeemingvPesutto

@threadreaderapp unroll please