As many as 2000 anti-lockdown protesters gathered for the Destiny Church organised event at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, with the crowd ranging from gang members to grannies.
There were families - including with young babies - on picnic chairs. Others included people in wheelchairs and some walking dogs, while a series of motorbikes were parked to the side along with two or three tractors. Many weren't wearing masks.
Other events were held in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin which are all at alert level 2 restrictions that allow for groups of up to 100 to gather.
During a Covid-19 news conference this afternoon, Ardern said the Auckland protest held during alert level 3 lockdown was "a slap in the face" to Aucklanders who had been following rules for the past seven weeks which allow gatherings of up to 10 people only.
Asked about police's response, Ardern said it was an operational matter for police and she had faith in them. "Very important that I don't step into their decision-making."
Ardern was quizzed about whether there should have been arrests, but again said it was a police matter.
However, she confirmed that the protest was illegal and said her opinion on the matter was that they have let down not just Aucklanders, but the rest of the country.
The Prime Minister didn't rule out action against the protesters, saying she understands police were still considering what to do with those who had broken the rules.
She disagreed with the assertion that there was one rule for Tamaki and a different rule for everyone else.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the protest was "frustrating" and "disappointing".
Thirty-three new community cases of Covid were reported in New Zealand today, the majority in Auckland but two new ones in Waikato, forcing parts of that region into alert level 3 from 11:59pm tonight.
Tamaki and his followers' actions have been labelled highly irresponsible by University of Otago epidemiologist Professor Michael Baker.
Te Pūnaha Matatini Covid-19 modeller Professor Michael Plank said the actions of the protesters to go out and break the level 3 rules designed to protect Aucklanders was disappointing.
"It does create the risk that the virus is able to spread. It undermines our collective response," Plank said.
Baker said when Auckland was making big sacrifices to maintain the Covid-19 outbreak the protest action was not helping. There was a chance an infectious person attended the event, but the level of risk was hard to estimate and it could be a case of good or bad luck for the virus to spread.
The positive side was the event was not indoors, reducing the potential for super-spreading, but a concern was people travelling in groups and holding gatherings before and after the event. It also created a precedent for more rule-breaking, he said.
Tamaki thanked police for working with him to make it a "peaceful but powerful day" and his message for the Government was: "We've had a gutsful."
"The protesters who showed up today were bringing an important message that "we are taking back our country", he said yesterday.
"We are facing a Government we thought we could trust. Instead they are stripping away the freedoms and rights of everyday Kiwis."
He said he believed the Government didn't know what to do next and had run out of ideas.
