'Sovereign citizen' who was pepper-sprayed in Wollongong court a no-show

Colin Robert Dunque, 49, travelled three hours from the Central Coast to Wollongong on January 23, to support Glen Short, 52, who was scheduled to face a hearing on eight driving charges stemming from a bizarre clash with a highway police officer in August 2023.

Short filmed the interaction which took place at Stanwell Tops and posted it to social media.

Dunque was one of the 30 supporters who Short had organised to attend court on the day of his hearing.

Chaos ensued almost immediately after Short's matter was called, as he and his supporters stood up and yelled "shame" from the back of the room, with many raising their fists.

Magistrate Michael Ong calmly told Short of the matters he had before the court, however, the yelling continued, with Short refusing to be called by his name.

"How about I call you Bob? What would you say, then?" Short, who refers to himself as Patriot101, said to the magistrate.

Short then lobbed a stack of papers towards the bar table, before yelling: "This court has now been placed on judicial notice."

The matter was unable to progress due to the yelling, with the magistrate imposing a judicial direction ordering the group to exit the building.

Court sheriffs and police rushed to the courtroom about 10am to escort them outside.

While many slowly filed outside, police allege Dunque stayed behind and refused to leave the room when asked by security officers.

Dunque reportedly yelled expletives at court sheriffs before he was subdued with pepper spray and taken to the ground.

He was arrested, but was granted police bail that afternoon.

Dunque's matter was mentioned at Wollongong Local Court for the first time on Tuesday, however, he didn't appear and was instead represented by his lawyer.

Magistrate Les Mabbutt read out an email from Dunque in which he said he didn't want to appear via audio-visual link as he "doesn't like the software" used by courts.

"I request to use a different medium like a phone call," Dunque said.

Defence lawyer Paul Paine requested an adjournment to review the CCTV footage of Dunque's arrest before any pleas are entered.

Dunque is facing charges of failing to leave a court premises as required by a security officer, not leaving court at the request of court security, failing to comply with a reasonable direction of a security officer, and wilfully delaying a security officer in exercise of their functions.

The matter was adjourned to next month. Dunque is not required to appear.

Short, who failed to return for his matter on the afternoon of January 23, was found guilty in his absence and fined a total of $6,440.