Sovereign citizens have disgracefully claimed the fatal shooting of two police officers was staged, in a disturbing and false conspiracy theory.
Dezi Freeman, 56, went on the run after being suspected of gunning down the two officers in cold blood at a property in Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne, on Tuesday.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, were shot dead while attempting to serve a search warrant.
A third officer survived after undergoing surgery and is expected to recover.
Police say Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, is believed to be a sovereign citizen, part of a fringe anti-government movement that rejects the rule of law.
Sources have told media that police had visited the property to execute a search warrant and speak to the father-of-three about alleged sexual offences against a child under the age of 16.
It’s understood the alleged offending had occurred in the past two years.
Ten officers converged on the property, including members of the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team.
Dezi Freeman, 56, went on the run after being suspected of gunning down the two officers at a property in Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne, on Tuesday
Concerns about Freeman’s known possession of guns also prompted the heavy police presence.
As Freeman remains on the run, a shocking conspiracy theory is circulating among sovereign citizens.
A friend of Freeman told Daily Mail the ‘media has done enough vilification’ of the 56-year-old and should ‘not be trusted at all.’
One sovereign citizen, who describes himself as a ‘full-time farm hand part-time citizen journalist,’ disgracefully suggested the fatal shooting of two police officers was ‘suspicious.’
He wrote on X: ‘Possible false flag event.’
Others agreed, claiming the cold-blooded shooting was ‘staged theatre’ and ‘there are no real victims.’
Another spread the fake conspiracy online: ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a psy-op designed by the government and you’ll find out that the cops were shot in the back by their own.’
A false flag is a political or military action carried out with the intention of blaming an opponent for it.
Police patrol the local primary school at Porepunkah after students return to the classroom for the first time since gunman Freeman killed two police officers
Freeman and his family were featured in a 2018 segment on Nine’s A Current Affair about a dispute with neighbours at their then Mount Buffalo property
Others branded the suggestion ‘ridiculous’.
Freeman fled into bushland immediately after the attack on Tuesday morning.
He was last seen wearing dark green tracksuit pants, a dark green rain jacket, brown Blundstone boots and reading glasses.
The two officers who were killed, the third injury and seven others were there to serve a search warrant related to the Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Teams.
He and his family were featured in a 2018 segment on Nine’s A Current Affair about a dispute with neighbours at their then Mount Buffalo property.
Freeman tried to arrest a magistrate during a hearing in Wangaratta Magistrates Court in 2019 and told a podcast at the time he was a photographer from Myrtleford in the state’s northeast and made a series of ‘pseudolaw’ statements.
Freeman was arrested outside Myrtleford Magistrates Court in 2021 after the failed private prosecution of then-state premier Daniel Andrews for treason.
His appeal against a two-year driving ban, in which he represented himself and expressed hatred of police, was thrown out in 2024.
Police warn the public to not approach Freeman as he may be armed with multiple firearms.
There have been no confirmed sightings of Freeman since Tuesday as the extensive manhunt for the alleged gunman continues.
‘To give you an idea of the resources that we’ve deployed to the area, we’ve got Homicide Squad, Armed Crime Squad, Fugitive Squad, Special Operations Group, Critical Incident Response Team – they all remain in the Porepunkah area,’ Senior Constable Paul Hogan told ABC Radio on Thursday.
Porepunkah residents are urged to stay indoors and avoid non-essential travel as the search continues.
‘We’re sympathetic to the Porepunkah people,’ Constable Hogan said. ‘We know it’s not ideal for them that they need to stay indoors and be conscious of what’s around them.
‘But remember, this man is believed to be armed with firearms and we urge people not to approach him.
‘If anyone sights this man or someone they believe to be this man, we urge them do not approach him – call triple-0 immediately.’
