A colourful ex-pro athlete once dubbed Australia’s “king of cannabis” is facing criminal charges after he and a friend allegedly lead an activist group that used high-powered laser beams to project pro-marijuana messages onto the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Former international skier turned entrepreneur and podcaster, William “Willy Biggs” Stolk, and content creator Alec Zammitt were arrested just before dawn on April 20 inside a room on the second floor of the Park Hyatt hotel, which has sweeping views over Circular Quay and direct line of sight to the Opera House.
The duo are alleged to have used laser devices in three different locations to project the words “who are we hurting” – the name of their collective – and the number “420”, representing the international day of cannabis action, on the Opera House sails, along with a picture of a cannabis leaf on one of the bridge’s pylons.
A four-minute video of the incident posted on YouTube at the time has racked up almost 15,000 views.
Stolk and Zammitt were held in police custody for six hours before being released on strict bail that prevents them from speaking to one another.
Both men have since hired former journalist turned lawyer Mark Davis, who has recently represented some of the Blockade Australia protesters in court.
The pair entered pleas of not guilty to a combined three charges of distribute etc advertisement etc on Opera House premises. Zammitt has been charged twice amid allegations he carried out a “test run” of the projection display a month earlier.
Read the full story by Shannon Tonkin here – The Daily Telegraph
