Freeman was no stranger to run-ins with authority, his sovereign citizen beliefs well documented in online posts, videos and court documents.
Locals in the town of Porepunkah have told media Freeman’s extremist views hardened during the Covid-19 pandemic, amid government rules and restrictions which were particularly strict in his state of Victoria.
He called police “terrorist thugs”, tried to arrest a magistrate during court proceedings, and made headlines in 2021 with an attempt to have then-Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews tried for treason – a case which was thrown out.
Police had expected their search last August wouldn’t be a straightforward interaction. After a risk assessment, they opted not to request specialist police support though, instead sending ten officers to his property.
Among them was a local detective from a nearby town who was on the brink of retirement. Thompson was selected for the job because he’d had previous dealings with the target and was thought to have built a rapport with him, The Age newspaper reported at the time.
Within minutes of arriving at the property, he was shot dead, alongside De Waart.
Thompson’s partner – also a police officer – said the AFL fan and adventure lover was the “best husband she’d never had”. Family and friends remembered De Waart, originally from Belgium, as the kind of person who was always happy, who was always smiling and trying to make others laugh.
Their deaths revived questions about how Australia deals with growing sects of anti-government conspiracy theorists – who federal police have described as a group with an “underlying capacity to inspire violence”.
A trio with similar anti-authority and pseudo-law beliefs ambushed and killed two officers – also gunning down a bystander – at a rural property in Queensland in 2022.
Helen Haines, the local MP for Porepunkah, said a dark cloud had hung over the town since last August and Freeman’s death “draws this prolonged and devastating incident to a close”.
A close friend of Thompson also welcomed the news of Freeman’s death.
“It’s a good day,” John Bird told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, adding it ultimately “doesn’t change much” but brought some closure.