NSW Man Charged Over Alleged Online Threat to a Federal Parliamentarian, AFP Seizes Phone and Suspected Drug
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced in Sydney on October 28 that a 39-year-old man from Lithgow, New South Wales, was expected to face court the same day, charged with using social media to allegedly threaten a federal parliamentarian and with drug possession. The man was refused bail to appear before Bail Division Court 4.
The AFP said its National Security Investigations (NSI) team began investigating in September 2026 after receiving a report. On October 27, investigators searched the man's Lithgow home and seized a mobile phone, about one gram of a white crystalline substance alleged to be a border-controlled drug, and drug paraphernalia.
He is charged with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence, under section 474.17 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment, and with possession of prohibited drugs under section 10(1) of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW), carrying a maximum of two years.
The AFP said its NSI teams were established in October 2025 by Commissioner Krissy Barrett to target high harm to social cohesion, and urged the public to report threats against parliamentarians to police.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 澳大利亚堪培拉的国会大厦。Dicklyon 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Photo by Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
