A Reservoir man, 33, was charged on Thursday for allegedly contacting a federal MP making death threats and antisemitic comments.
A Reservoir man, 33, was charged on Thursday for allegedly contacting a federal MP making death threats and antisemitic comments.
By Olivia Ireland
Updated February 7, 2025 — 2.58pmfirst published at 12.46pm
A Melbourne man allegedly issued antisemitic death threats online to a federal MP from NSW and is facing separate allegations stemming from his online contact with a Victorian state MP last month.
The Reservoir man, 33, was charged on Thursday 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 after state and federal police searched his home and seized electronic devices.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail. Police allege that the man contacted the federal MP, who they did not name, via social media and email between January 16 and 18 this year and contacted the Victorian MP through social media during the same month.
The 33-year-old was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 8.
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The alleged threats put the safety of politicians back in the spotlight, after several federal and state MPs had their offices vandalised with antisemitic graffiti last year. In one incident, vandals smashed windows and used flammable liquid to set fires at the office of Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns in June.
AFP counterterrorism and special investigations command assistant commissioner Stephen Nutt said state and federal police were investigating antisemitic conduct through an operation called Avalite.
“Parliamentarians and members of our community should not have to endure vile threats based on their race, religion, or ethnicity,” he said in a statement.
“The community should expect further charges … Special Operation Avalite has a number of individuals under investigation.”
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State and federal police have arrested more than 100 people in recent months over alleged antisemitism offences.
Labor MP Peter Khalil also had his electorate office in Melbourne’s northern suburbs targeted.
The Albanese government’s response to antisemitism has been a major issue in federal politics. Labor introduced mandatory jail sentences for terror and Nazi-related offences, defying the government’s own policy platform, which argues that the change hamstrings judges and is unjust.
Police discovered a caravan last month in the northern Sydney suburb of Dural with a note containing the address of a synagogue and enough stolen explosives to create a 40-metre blast wave.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether he had been briefed on the matter before it became public at the end of January.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Thursday he had written to Albanese asking for an independent inquiry into the communications between security agencies, police and the government over the caravan discovery. Albanese argued it was more important to track down the perpetrators instead.
Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw came under intense questioning before a hearing of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement on Thursday, as he refused to answer whether he briefed Albanese before the caravan discovery was leaked to the media.
“I am conscious that this is a public hearing and it’s not an appropriate forum for us to provide information relating to an ongoing investigation,” Kershaw said on Thursday.
There is no suggestion the Reservoir man had any connection to the vandalism of MPs’ offices or the caravan incident.
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correction
A previous version of this story misstated the date on which the accused man is scheduled to appear in court.
Olivia Ireland is a workplace relations and federal breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House in Canberra.Connect via Twitter or email.
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