Law enforcement authorities in Australia have linked several individuals associated with the sovereign citizen movement to the ongoing investigation into who may have sheltered Dezi Freeman, the man responsible for killing two police officers and wounding a third. The inquiry has also examined attendees of a controversial event held at Old Parliament House in Canberra in early 2025.
In February 2025, an event described publicly as an afternoon tea for about 100 people took place in the Senate courtyard of Old Parliament House. However, it was promoted within the sovereign citizen community as a gathering aimed to establish a grand jury to indict unspecified individuals for unidentified crimes. The event featured distribution of material from The Corruption Whistleblower magazine, which advanced conspiracy theories involving former prime ministers John Howard and Scott Morrison, as well as current Labor prime minister Anthony Albanese. The publication also dismissed the COVID-19 pandemic as a “bioterrorist mass extinction.” Following the event, officials managing Old Parliament House denied any involvement, stating they had been misled during the booking.
Police have conducted multiple raids in northeastern Victoria and around Goulburn, New South Wales, in connection with the search for Freeman, employing armed units and helicopters. Authorities have seized numerous electronic devices as part of efforts to trace Freeman’s movements. Freeman, 56, was fatally shot by Special Operations Group officers near Thologolong, close to Albury, in March 2026 after months on the run. He used a double-barrel shotgun to fatally wound Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vladim de Waart-Ho ttart, 35, during an attempt to serve a warrant. A third officer was also injured in the incident.
One notable raid took place in Porepunkah, about 315 kilometers northeast of Melbourne, six months after the sovereign citizen event in Canberra. Police did not believe Freeman was armed at that time but found evidence he had received food and beer from unidentified individuals. There is currently no indication Freeman attended the Canberra gathering.
Authorities are scrutinizing online platforms and social networks to identify anyone who may have assisted Freeman while he was evading capture. Harboring a criminal in this context carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Victorian Police have expressed confidence they have identified individuals who aided Freeman during his months in hiding.
The region around Porepunkah has a history of anti-pandemic-measure protests and included a community outspoken in opposition to former Premier Daniel Andrews, at times accusing him of treason. Freeman was actively involved in this community and held a public profile during the demonstrations. While he did not personally identify as a sovereign citizen — a term many affiliates reject — numerous people in northeastern Victoria subscribe to elements of the movement’s ideology.
Police operations in the region have faced local criticism, both for their handling of the Freeman manhunt and for their enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions during the pandemic, which many rural residents considered disproportionate.
The investigation has also touched on members of the Filipino diaspora in the area. Freeman and his wife Mali were reportedly long-time friends of Lisa and Datu Efren Mandipensa from Stanley, near Porepunkah. Police have visited the Mandipensa residence multiple times since Freeman’s death, including at least one detention and questioning near Beechworth and a search of the Stanley home in April that resulted in confiscation of mobile phones, computers, and internet equipment. Additional searches were carried out at the homes of the Mandipensas’ children in Myrtleford. Authorities have not publicly implicated these individuals in harboring Freeman.