Fires and clashes broke out across parliament grounds in New Zealand between police and protestors at an anti-vaccine mandate demonstration. In a final act of defiance, the protestors set fire to tents after police broke up the camp that the demonstrators had set up over three weeks ago. The operation began at dawn, when police started telling people over loudspeakers they were trespassing and needed to leave, while officers tore down tents in peripheral areas and a police helicopter circled overhead. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that in planning the operation, police had expected violence and resistance, but what had transpired had been difficult to watch. “I was both angry and also deeply saddened. To see the Parliament — your Parliament, our Parliament — desecrated in that way, and a children’s playground destroyed, by a small group of illegal protesters. But, as I say, it’s not something that will define New Zealand’s response to this pandemic,” Arden said.

Demonstrators set fire to tents, mattresses and chairs at a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported fewer than 100 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
Demonstrators comfort each other during a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported fewer than 100 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
A lone demonstrator and police face off at a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported fewer than 100 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)
Demonstrators set fire to tents, mattresses and chairs at a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported fewer than 100 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks. (Mike Scott/New Zealand Herald via AP)
Demonstrators and police face off at a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported fewer than 100 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks. (Mike Scott/New Zealand Herald via AP)
A demonstrator receives medial attention after he was sprayed by police at a protest opposing coronavirus vaccine mandates in Wellington, New Zealand, Wednesday, March 2, 2022. Since the beginning of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported fewer than 100 virus deaths among its population of 5 million, after it imposed strict border controls and lockdowns to eliminate earlier outbreaks. (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)