By Will Cassell
A week doesn’t go by that Dissent bar owner David Howe doesn’t receive support for the satirical posters affixed to his front window.
Since his posters were seized by ACT Policing six months ago, he has received support from around the world.
“I’ve had visitors from Canada, messages of support from people in the U.S. And, of course, nationally… basically from all over the country,” Mr Howe told Observer.
“I think [they’re] as relevant now as [they were] then, perhaps even more so,” he said.
On 4 February 2026, ACT Police declared the venue a crime scene, just fifteen minutes before a band was due to perform. They seized the posters for allegedly contravening recently passed Commonwealth anti-hate laws.
The posters depict world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Nazi-like uniforms. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Putin for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to Mr Howe, “the new anti-hate laws have the intent of silencing other forms of artistic expression”.
“There is a bit of a trend.. where dissent, or anything that disagrees with the norm is frowned upon quietly,” said Mr Howe.
“It’s not an overt pressure but it’s quite deliberate.”
Mr Howe pointed to recent changes to school curriculums in Western Australia, changes which have been accused of holding a pro-Israel bias.
He also pointed to the dropping of charges against a Wagga Wagga man for a similar anti-fascist display, and the criminalisation of pro-Palestine chants in Queensland.
This was the first time Mr Howe has heard of a complaint about his bar. It was also the first allegation of criminality made under the anti-hate laws.
“The import of the law, as it was created, was very heavy handed in its nature,” said Mr Howe. “It bestowed upon anonymous complainers this power to almost enforce police action.”
“It seems to me like it’s an inappropriate power.”
The anti-hate laws were criticised by human rights lawyers as “invariably” having unintended consequences. “To be frank, when you read the bill, even to senior lawyers it’s unintelligible,” said Barrister Greg Barns.
“I think the law was a mistake,” Mr Howe said. “It was drafted in a hurry and passed in a hurry. It was a kneejerk response to the [Bondi terrorist attack].”
“This was an example of those unintended consequences.”
After police dropped charges, Mr Howe received a call from ACT Police Minister Marisa Paterson which he described as “performative”.
“She said, ‘I’m just making sure you’re okay’… [the phone call] is kind of nice, but what the hell, you know?”
Minister Paterson also made an apology on Facebook, “to the owner and those who were in the venue on the day and may have felt distressed by police attendance”.
In a statement the same day, ACT Policing said they “[remain] committed to ensuring that alleged antisemitic, racist and hate incidents are addressed promptly and thoroughly”.
The lack of apology from ACT Police was not surprising for Mr Howe.
“An apology would be an admission of wrongdoing and unfortunately the way the world is at the moment, neither governments nor police are going to apologise for police action.”
“It’s just not what they do, is it?”
Asked if this would deter him from dissenting in the future, Mr Howe quickly replied “no”.
“It’s meant to stifle debate and to narrow the field, the range of topics that we can discuss in the public domain. I don’t believe that’s a healthy situation for us to be in publicly and as a society.”
Graphics by Olivia Abraham
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