Australian Man Charged With Death Threats, Anti-Semitic Abuse Against MPs

Australian Federal Police at the home of an alleged offender charged amid a crackdown on anti-Semitism in Australia. Courtesy of the Australian Federal Police

A 33-year-old man from Reservoir, Victoria, has been arrested and charged with four counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and one count of using a carriage service to threaten to kill in relation to emails and social media posts targeting members of the federal and Victorian parliaments.

The threatening to kill charge carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

The man allegedly targeted Jewish MPs. He was arrested by a joint operation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Victorian Police under Special Operation Avalite, established in December last year to deal with rising numbers of anti-Semitic offences.

The AFP will allege the man used social media and email to contact a New South Wales-based federal MP several times between Jan. 16 and 18 this year, making death threats and antisemitic comments.

Victoria Police will allege he also used social media to contact a Victorian-based state MP in the same month.

Behaviour ‘Deplorable’: Police

Police from both forces executed a search warrant at the man’s home on Feb. 6 and seized several electronic devices.

“Anyone engaging in this type of deplorable behaviour will be investigated, located, and brought before the court,” said AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt from the Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command.

“Parliamentarians and members of our community should not have to endure vile threats based on their race, religion, or ethnicity.

“The community should expect further charges, given the experienced team working on Special Operation Avalite has a number of individuals under investigation.”

The man was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 8.

MPs Previously the Targets of Anti-Semitism

It is standard practice for police not to release the names of victims, though there are only a small number of Jewish MPs in both Parliaments.

The only federal MP who is both Jewish and from New South Wales is Labor MP Julian Leeser.

In the Victorian state parliament, the Jewish MPs are Labor’s Paul Hamer, who represents the seat of Box Hill, and David Southwick, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and the member for Caulfield.

In Victoria, Josh Burns, who is a federal Labor MP, had his office attacked in June last year and daubed with anti-Semitic slogans. Then in October, the office of Peter Khalil, also a federal Labor MP, had his Melbourne office spray painted with “land bac” and “glory to the martyrs” slogans.

While Burns is Jewish, Khalil is a Coptic Christian, but he was appointed the government’s Envoy for Social Cohesion and was the subject of an exclusive story in the Jewish Independent.