Authorities vow there will be no repeat of the extraordinary scenes from February and March, when anti-vaccine and anti-COVID mandate protesters travelled in convoy to the New Zealand capital and refused to leave. Their stay culminated in a brutal showdown.
Tuesday's protest is likely to be dwarfed in size by the summer protest, and by a counter-demonstration being organised across the road.
Researchers still warn the protest could attract dangerous individuals - including neo-Nazis - and have a destructive effect.
"I have no doubt that the police and (spy agency) SIS are fully aware and prepped for whatever may transpire but it's hard to determine the nature of what will happen tomorrow," University of Otago's Sanjana Hattotuwa said.
"This is actually unprecedented in this country."
On Monday, the right-wing Freedom and Rights Coalition began a new convoy from the northern and southern tips of the country which will converge in the capital on Tuesday.
After marching through the city, they are promising to hold "The People's Court" on parliament grounds, where speakers will lay out the various "Crimes Against Humanity" by individuals including politicians, academics, public health experts and journalists.
"It's theatre that is based on a violent script," Dr Hattotuwa, the research lead for the The Disinformation Project, said.
"But if you study what we study, there is no permutation, variation, interpretation or version of this that is non-violent.
"The whole business of doing this is to 'hang' people who are found guilty."
The Freedom and Rights Coalition is led by fundamentalist Christian and right-wing Aucklander Brian Tamaki, who rallied opposition to the government's COVID-19 response and aspires to win seats in parliament.
Beyond his group, Dr Hattotuwa said all sorts of people with misgivings about the government, including "anti-vax and anti-authority" individuals but also neo-Nazi Kiwis, could be attracted to the demonstrations.
"There is very clearly neo-Nazi interest and involvement in the convoy and we expect them to be there in Wellington," he said.
"Tamaki has his own political aspirations ... but he doesn't control the narrative that he is going to unleash tomorrow. And that's really worrying."
Police say they expect a lawful protest, and parliament's speaker says he will not allow protesters to set up camp again.
February's occupation spiralled out of control when authorities underestimated the determination of the group.
Speaker Trevor Mallard drew much scorn for his decision to play annoying songs - including Baby Shark and the Macarena - over loudspeakers in an attempt to get protesters to leave.
Instead, they were emboldened.
Things came to a head on March 2, when police were attacked as they cleared the grounds, finding themselves showered with bricks and even human excrement.
Hundreds of charges have since been laid against protesters.
In preparation for this week, road blocks have been put in place around parliament to prevent cars from blocking streets, as they did in February, with additional fencing and security ordered for parliament house.
There are signs the protest may underwhelm compared to the summer occupation, when roughly 1000 people camped on lawns, setting up a village with food tents, child care, and even toilets plumbed into the street.
Fewer than 100 cars formed the convoy as it travelled with a police convoy through Auckland on Monday morning.
