Sovereign citizens have disgracefully claimed the fatal shooting of two police officers was staged in a disturbing and false conspiracy theory.
Dezi Freeman, aged 56, became a fugitive after allegedly shooting two officers in cold blood at a residence in Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne, on Tuesday.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, lost their lives while trying to serve a search warrant.
A third officer survived after undergoing surgery and is expected to recover.
The police report that Freeman, who also goes by the name Desmond Filby, is suspected to be a sovereign citizen, affiliated with an anti-government movement that does not recognize legal authority.
Media outlets, citing reliable sources, reveal that law enforcement was at the property to carry out a search warrant and question the father of three about alleged sexual crimes against a minor below 16 years.
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, became a fugitive after reportedly shooting the two officers at a home 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 amongst 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’.
A self-identified sovereign citizen, who claims to be a ‘full-time farmhand and part-time citizen journalist,’ disgracefully implied that the tragic death of the two 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
Others branded the suggestion ‘ridiculous’.
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
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.’
