Conviction overturned for man who punched antigay attackers at WorldPride

A man who was convicted for stopping an anti-LGBTQ+ assault during Sydney WorldPride last year had his conviction overturned in court on earlier this month, as reported by the Australian AP.

Mirco Olivieri, 30, had been convicted of his involvement in the incident which took place in the Darlinghurst section of Sydney in January 2023. Olivieri, a fashion consultant originally from Italy, said he saw two large men bullying a young gay man identified as Jack Schmidt outside a kebab shop when he stepped between the men. The dispute escalated and Olivieri was thrown to the ground by the men, who also uttered a homophobic slur.

Olivieri responded by landing multiple blows. Despite protestations from Schmidt at the scene, police arrested all three men. Last April, Olivieri was convicted and sentenced to conditional release and community service by local court magistrate Brett Shields.

Olivieri maintained his innocence all along and appealed the decision. Judge Mark Williams overturned the decision in his Downing Centre District Court.

“This man was intervening to protect someone he thought was being unfairly victimized,” Williams said. “These two apparently larger, more aggressive men – they were the ones who initiated it.”

At court, a statement was read from Schmidt expressing his gratitude for Olivieri’s actions and confusion as to the police’s lack of interest in taking his statement at the scene.

“I was confused and upset as they didn’t want a statement about what I felt and believed was a homophobic attack and a gay hate crime,” Schmidt’s statement read.

Pictured: Mirco Olivieri