WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews was due to face treason charges laid by an accused cop killer just days after the shooting.
OUR VERDICT
False. The reports are from 2021, and the case was thrown out of court.
AAP FACTCHECK - The man accused of killing two police officers had not been due to prosecute former state premier Daniel Andrews in court, despite claims on social media.
Dezi Freeman, 56, is linked to a failed private prosecution of Mr Andrews in 2021, with the case thrown out of court at the first hearing.
The old news coverage has been reproduced online to falsely suggest the court hearing had been due just days after Freeman's fatal confrontation with police at a property near Porepunkah, 300km northeast of Melbourne, on August 26, 2025.
The two officers killed were part of a team attempting to serve a search warrant relating to alleged child sex offending, the ABC has reported.
Freeman - also known as Desmond Filby - fled into bushland after allegedly killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, and wounded a third detective.
Multiple posts on social media claim the former Victorian premier had been due to appear at Myrtleford Magistrates' Court in Victoria, near Porepunkah, on August 29, 2025, on a charge of "concealing treason" brought by Freeman and associate Jim Rech.
Many posts include a screenshot featuring a photo of Freeman accompanied by text that reads: "Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has appeared on a criminal court listing after a charge of concealing treason was successfully filed with a court …
"While the prosecuting agency on the court record is listed as 'unknown', it is understood anti-lockdown campaigners Jim Rech and photographer Dezi Freeman had the matter listed privately."
The text, however, is copied from a Daily Mail story on December 14, 2021.
The case was heard on December 17, 2021.
Mr Andrews did not appear before the court, and the case was struck out by the magistrate, The Guardian Australia reported.
It's not immediately apparent that Freeman was a party to those proceedings, as reporting following the hearing claimed the private prosecution was brought by chiropractor Anthony Herman.
However, Freeman was filmed being arrested outside the court as part of a group supporting the case in a report by Seven News.
The Myrtleford Magistrates' Court also has not listed any cases to be heard on August 29, 2025, with the next court day set for September 5, 2025.
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