Lawfare

Year 2025Episode 2946 minAug 18, 2025
Lawfare

A growing anti-government movement in Australia is challenging the authority of the courts, councils and cops.  

Some call themselves sovereign citizens, others freedom fighters. 

Supercharged during the COVID lockdowns, the movement's rising influence and resolve has made it one of the judiciary's primary concerns. 

They're flooding the legal system with pseudolaw claims, staging their own "trials" and targeting officials with campaigns of harassment and intimidation. While they claim to be peaceful, many express the desire for an armed population, ready to act against what they see as an oppressive government. 

This week on Four Corners, reporter Mahmood Fazal embeds with key figures inside the movement to see how it operates. From "sheriffs" serving their own court orders to government departments, to local council meetings overrun by anti-vax activists.  

Lawfare traces how the movement is trying to exert influence across Australia. Legal experts explain how this seemingly victimless civil disobedience can sometimes escalate into intimidation, violence and serious risks to public safety. 

The investigation exposes a movement that's testing the limits of Australian law and the institutions meant to uphold it.  

It examines the human and institutional impact of the movement and the danger to our democracy if it's not taken seriously.

Lawfare has aired on Aug 18, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Previous EpisodeNext Episode

Trailer

We do not have any trailers for this episode

Recently Updated Shows

Recently updated shows that might be of your interest.
Chicago Med
Running

Chicago Med

An emotional thrill ride through the day-to-day chaos of the city's newest state-of-the-art trauma center and into the lives of the courageous doctors, nurses and staff who hold it all together. This is one of those days.

Chicago P.D.
Running

Chicago P.D.

District 21 of the Chicago Police Department is made up of two distinctly different groups. There are the uniformed cops who patrol the beat and go head to head with the city's street crimes. And there's the Intelligence Unit, the team that combats the city's major offenses - organized crime, drug trafficking, high profile murders and beyond. These are their stories.

GenreDrama, Crime
Slow Horses
Running

Slow Horses

Slow Horses follows the story of a group of British intelligence agents who serve in a dumping ground department of MI5 called Slough House after the big mistakes they've made that resulted in the end of their mainstream careers.

This quick-witted spy drama follows a dysfunctional team of MI5 agents—and their obnoxious boss, the notorious Jackson Lamb—as they navigate the espionage world's smoke and mirrors to defend England from sinister forces.

Chicago Fire
Running

Chicago Fire

No job is more stressful, dangerous or exhilarating than those of the Firefighters, Rescue Squad and Paramedics of Chicago Firehouse 51. These are the courageous men and women who forge headfirst into danger when everyone else is running the other way and whose actions make the difference between life and death. These are their stories.

Silo
Running

Silo

In a ruined and toxic future, thousands live in a giant silo deep underground. After its sheriff breaks a cardinal rule and residents die mysteriously, engineer Juliette starts to uncover shocking secrets and the truth about the silo.