2022 Wellington protest

The 2022 Wellington protest was an anti-mandate and anti-lockdown occupation of the grounds of Parliament House and Molesworth Street in Central Wellington during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The occupation springboarded off the New Zealand Convoy 2022, a mass convoy of vehicles that made its way from the top of the North Island and the bottom of the South Island to Parliament starting on Waitangi Day (6 February 2022) and arriving three days later on 9 February. The occupation lasted just over three weeks. At its peak, the protest spread over a large area of Thorndon and into Pipitea with approximately 1,000 participants. Protesters blockaded areas around the parliamentary grounds with their vehicles and occupied the lawn and surrounding areas in tents. Some associated with the protests harassed bystanders, and disrupted local businesses. The protest was forcibly ended by police on 2 March 2022, and the protesters had none of their demands met by the Government.

The protesters were a mixed group, but the majority protested the COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates in New Zealand, while some identified with far-right politics such as Trumpism, white nationalism, and Christian fundamentalism. Māori sovereignty ideology was also present, although local and national Māori leaders denounced the occupation. The protest originally began with a small group from the South Island, and the resulting mixture of motivations led to mixed messaging and eventual internal division. Their protest methods ranged from peaceful to increasingly violent. There were videos of protesters skirmishing with and attacking police, and a report of protesters harassing and egging a teenage girl for wearing a mask. Some protesters hung nooses from trees and made threats to lynch politicians, such as Jacinda Ardern, Grant Robertson and pregnant MP Steph Lewis. Antisemitism was reported to be "rife" within the protests.

Despite the disruption to Wellingtonians, the police initially took a 'light-handed' approach to protesters. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis suggested the police did not want to escalate the situation. On 2 March, police began to take action, forcibly removing the protesters, which left the parliamentary grounds covered in rubbish, including destroyed tents, hay, and human excrement. Towards the end, some protesters turned violent and injured 40 police officers, putting eight of them in hospital. Arson was committed while protesters were being evicted, causing damage estimated in the millions. Towards the end of the occupation some protest groups began infighting. In December 2023, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) released a report outling six cases of excessive force used by police during the occupation, following 1900 complaints.