A man from Victoria, Australia was charged with antisemitic abuse and death threats against a Federal MP, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced on Tuesday.
The charges were brought by Special Operation Avalite, an AFP task force focusing on threats, violence, and hatred towards the Australian Jewish community and parliamentarians.
The AFP alleged that the man, 41, used social media to contact a Commonwealth MP multiple times between 7 January 2025 and 19 February 2025. The messages included death threats and antisemitic comments.
After receiving a search warrant, AFP seized an electronic device from the man’s home in the Melbourne suburb of Officer.
The man was charged on Tuesday with one count of using a carriage service to menace and one count of threatening to cause serious harm to a Commonwealth Public Official, the latter of which carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment. He was granted bail and is set to appear before Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on June 19.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt said Special Operation Avalite would "continue to tirelessly investigate antisemitic conduct, including threats to elected officials. "
'We will not stand by'
“Anyone engaging in this type of deplorable behavior can expect a knock on the door and a swift date with the courts,” he added.
“No one, be they an elected representative or member of the public, should have to endure vile, villainous threats based on their race, religion or ethnicity. We will not stand by and let antisemitism run rife through the Australian community.”
The AFP also charged a 33-year-old Melbourne man from Reservoir with making alleged death threats and antisemitic comments towards a federal MP in February.