Yarra mayor Stephen Jolly said he feared being ‘knifed’ before allegedly punching protester

Yarra Mayor Stephen Jolly told police he was scared he would be “knifed” when four masked protesters attended his post-election party in 2024, where he is accused of punching one in the face.

Jolly will be forced to wait a month to hear the outcome of his defence to a single charge of unlawful assault, as a six-day contested hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court that called on more than a dozen witnesses drew to a close.

The alleged incident occurred during a post-election party at Ziggy’s Disco Lounge on Smith Street in Fitzroy in November 2024. Roughly 40 of his supporters had gathered there to celebrate the council election results.

It is alleged that Jolly punched protester Estella Burrows in the cheek after another member of her group started voicing allegations regarding the mayor’s past mistreatment of women over a megaphone.

In a 40-minute interview with police, recorded in October 2025 and played to the court, Jolly said he was “scared shitless” during the protest and adamantly denied punching or hitting anyone.

He repeatedly said the allegations made against him were “total bullshit”, and part of a “massive campaign” against him as a politician.

Jolly also claimed that he thought he was “going to get knifed” and that there were four black-clad men linked to the protesters who were waiting out the front to attack him after he left the Smith Street venue.

The court also heard from a member of the protesting group, Mark Ryan, who attended to film the protest and support his friends.

Ryan said that he remembers the Yarra mayor rushing towards Burrows and the other protester almost immediately after the announcement started over the megaphone.

“[Jolly] hit her with force … he was quite ferocious for a second. It was a loud, loud punch,” Ryan said.

Defence witness Mark Mansour, another party attendee, told the court he witnessed the protesters acting “incredibly violently” and “causing chaos” using the megaphone and a mobility aid.

Mansour said that members of the group “threw the megaphone … and then started brandishing the crutches … basically attacking the rest of the people that were trying to remove them from the venue”.

Two character witnesses for Jolly, Chelsea Piper Rodd and Jacinta Chavulak, said they had never seen Jolly be violent or make threats of violence. Neither was present at the post-election party in 2024.

Prosecutor Laura Zubreckyj said during final submissions that the case heavily relied on the 40-second video captured during the alleged incident. She said that it depicts the moment that Jolly punched Burrows.