Man accused of hurling antisemitic comments at political organisation​on February 5, 2025 at 10:31 am

A man accused of hurling antisemitic comments and abuse at a Canberra political organisation has been charged after he was tracked down in a coastal Victorian town.

The 64-year-old man, from the rural area of Toorloo Arm, was stopped in a vehicle at Lakes Entrance on Wednesday morning and handed a search warrant.

His mobile phone was seized, and detectives from the Australian Federal Police’s Special Operation Avalite – specifically set up to investigate threats, violence and hatred towards the Jewish community and parliamentarians – later arrested the man.

He was charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, after he allegedly called the Canberra office of a political organisation twice on January 21, and made antisemitic and abusive statements over the phone.

“It is abhorrent that parliamentarians and members of our community are being targeted and threatened because of their race or religious views,” Australian Federal Police Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said.

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“The experienced investigators and analysts working under Special Operation Avalite have a number of individuals under investigation and the community should expect further charges.

“If you engage in antisemitic conduct, you will be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

The Australian Federal Police would not say what political organisation was targeted or whether the abuse was intended for politicians.