A speaker at the anti-Government protest in Wellington labelled the media "terrorists" and encouraged demonstrators to "roll" Parliament as the atmosphere got irascible outside the Beehive on Tuesday afternoon.
Hundreds of people gathered outside Parliament to oppose the Government's COVID-19 restrictions, led in their protestations by the Brian Tamaki-founded Freedoms and Rights Coalition.
A number of speakers took to the podium to speak to the crowd on Tuesday, with one taking aim at journalists and politicians - with his chilling threats earning an enthusiastic cheer from protesters.
"We are here today to stand as a people, to tell the Government 'your time is up'. If you don't ship up (sic), we're gonna ship you out," he said.
"We're not standing here waiting for another three years when the next election rolls down, we'll roll this place and tip them out with a revolution of the people."
Tennis balls emblazoned with threatening and abusive messages, many of them targeted at politicians, were also thrown by the crowd at reporters later in the day.
Photos of the balls posted to social media by journalists from Newstalk ZB and Stuff show them labelling MPs "paedophiles" and carrying death threats aimed at the Prime Minister.
Newshub has also seen death threats toward Jacinda Ardern posted on private anti-vaxx chatrooms. Police couldn't say if it had been made aware of the threats, but told Newshub it "takes threats toward individuals seriously".
"Threatening a person is a serious crime and people can expect to be investigated and, if appropriate, prosecuted. This is true regardless of who is making the threat or what medium they use," a spokesperson said.
Earlier in the day a Newshub camera operator was abused by a protester, who threatened to smash his camera and called him a "lying f**king c***" as he fled the scene.
Another video posted by Stuff journalist Henry Cooke shows a group of protesters surrounding journalists, with one abusing them through a megaphone.
"You're an embarrassment to us - the media and the Government," he yells. "Look at all of you with your face nappies on. We can see straight through you."
Responding to the tetchy atmosphere and threats, Ardern told reporters on Tuesday she didn't believe the protesters to be representative of the majority of New Zealanders.
Asked if she'd seen an increase in threats against her, she said "I haven't necessarily".
"But nor necessarily would I see all of that. Yes, I do run my own social media so of course I get a slice of that, but I'm very clear that's not indicative of the vast bulk of New Zealanders."
