Two men charged in separate online threats to federal MPs
Federal police charged two men, aged 43 and 67, for making separate online threats to MPs.
Two men were charged by Australian Federal Police for making separate online threats to politicians. Police arrested the 43-year-old north of Brisbane on Thursday and executed a search warrant investigating repeated threats posted online to MPs and members of the public.
The man was charged with using a carriage service to threaten, harass or cause offense, carrying a maximum five years in prison. He was granted conditional bail to appear in Caboolture Magistrate's Court on January 5.
Police arrested the 67-year-old in Melbourne on Wednesday after he allegedly sent harassing emails to MPs. He was charged with three counts of the same offense and granted conditional bail to appear in Ringwood Magistrates' Court on February 16.
The AFP's National Security Investigations team, started in October, was created because threats targeting MPs have been on the rise. AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the force charges about one person per week.
- Moreton Bay area north of Brisbane
- First arrest location
- Thursday
- First arrest day
- 5 years
- Maximum prison sentence
- 1 person
- Weekly threat charges
Why it mattersOnline threats to MPs have become frequent enough that police created a dedicated team to investigate them. The AFP now charges roughly one person weekly for threatening politicians.
AustraliaAustralian MPs face an increasing volume of online harassment, prompting federal police to treat it as a national security priority.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 d ago
