Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull recently made waves by suggesting that “gang violence and lawlessness” threatened to take over the Australian state of Victoria. These comments were echoed by Peter Dutton, the home affairs minister who blamed the lack of attention on the alleged crime wave supposedly led by African gangs on “political correctness.” These claims were made as Australia is gearing up for elections, but much like our own bunch of conservatives, Dutton and Turnbull are not afraid that laying blame at the feet of a population who are over-represented in Australian arrests will have political ramifications.

However, Victoria’s acting police minister, Lisa Neville, called the attacks on the African immigrants, specifically Sudanese who are fleeing unrest in their home country, “a new low,” and a number of Victorians, including Afro-Australians, mocked Turnbull and Dutton’s statements using the hashtags #AfricanGangs and #MelbourneBitesBack on social media as a form of protest against the wildly inaccurate statements.

A video posted by AJ Plus recaps the entire episode, capturing the strong Afro-Australian response:

Additionally, a South Sudanese lawyer calling out the attacks on African immigrants went viral: