• Seven people linked to a Destiny Church protest appeared in court after allegedly targeting an Auckland Pride event. 
• Community Magistrate Fenella Thomas granted interim name suppression to one defendant, a teenager, citing her age. 
• All others lost their bids for interim suppression but have indicated they will appeal. 

Seven people arrested last week for a Destiny Church-linked protest had their first appearance in court today, one month after targeting an Auckland Pride week event. 

The hallways of Waitakere District Court were filled with the defendants’ supporters this morning, but only one person at a time was allowed in the courtroom as they took turns standing in the dock before Community Magistrate Fenella Thomas. 

Defence lawyer Bridget Lawler, appearing for Todd Simmonds KC, asked that each defendant receive interim name suppression. 

“There’s been threats to safety — threats to life,” she said. “This is something that has attracted intense media interest. There have already been threats to all seven people.” 

Lawler also suggested fair trial rights could be jeopardised if the seven were to be named. 

The magistrate rejected the argument for all but one defendant, a teenager. She allowed all other defendants to be named and granted permission for media to photograph and film the defendants. 

She noted the protest had already been widely disseminated on social media 

“The nature of a protest of this type is you willingly exposed yourself to public scrutiny,” she said. 

However, the defence indicated it would appeal the decision so the defendants cannot yet be identified. 

Those charged include: 

• a 44-year-old man accused of injures with intent; 
• a 55-year-old man charged with assault; 
• a 47-year-old man charged with assault; 
• a 67-year-old man charged with indecent assault, two counts of assault under the Summary Offences Act and one count of assault under the Crimes Act; 
• a 50-year-old woman charged with assault; 
• a 28-year-old woman charged with two counts of assault; and 
• a 19-year-old woman charged with one count of assault. 

The magistrate allowed each defendant to delay entering a plea until their next court appearances, all of which were scheduled for early next month. 

Authorities previously said they had been investigating allegations of assault after a group of about 50 people entered the Te Atatū Community Centre last month and refused to leave. 

The library there had been hosting a Drag Queen storytime event. 

Exposed youself to scrutiny’: Magistrate rejects suppression for Destiny Church-linked protesters But the seven defendants still cannot be identified. 18 March 2025 NZME photograph by Michael Craig 

Rainbow community supporters at Waitakere District Court this morning ahead of Destiny Church members appearing in relation to a fracas at a drag event at an Auckland library last month. L-r Anton Blank, John Seagar, Marc Schdroski. 18 March 2025 NZME photograph by Cherie Howie 

A 16-year-old girl swept up in the confrontation after initially attending a sports event at the venue suffered a concussion in the process, her mother said. 

Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki later claimed during a sermon he had given members of his congregation the green light for the protest. The Freedom and Rights Coalition, which started as an anti-lockdown group and has close ties to the church, has also claimed responsibility. 

“I want you to storm the library they’re in and shut it down,” Tamaki recalled instructing a church elder. “There might have been some pushing and shoving, but I would smack someone who was trying to pervert my child in a room.” 

The protest elicited criticism from both Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who said the church went “too far”. 

Magistrate Thomas allowed each defendant to remain on bail, with conditions they stay away from the community centre and not contact any of the complainants. 

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.