Queensland Man Charged Over Alleged Anti-Semitic Online Threats

The man now faces two charges, with a total maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.

Detectives talk to a man during an investigation into anti-Semitic threats in Queensland, Australia. Courtesy of the Australian Federal Police

Police have arrested and charged a 56-year-old Queensland man for allegedly making anti-Semitic posts on social media.

The investigation started in September 2025 when a string of anti-Semitic comments and threats against the Jewish community were posted on the messaging platform Telegram.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) National Security Investigations (NSI) team in Queensland traced the threats to an account allegedly operated by the man. They, along with the Queensland Police Service, executed a search warrant on a vehicle and a house in Longreach in Central West Queensland.

In addition to several electronic devices, police also seized an extendable baton and two flick knives, which are illegal under the state’s Weapons Act.

The man now faces one count under that law, carrying a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment, as well as a charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or cause offence under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

He has been scheduled to appear before the Longreach Magistrates Court on April 14, 2026.

Detective Superintendent Bill Freeman said the AFP took threats against the Jewish community seriously.

“The AFP supports freedom of speech and political expression but does not tolerate criminal behaviour, including threats and harassment,” he said.

“The AFP is committed to identifying and charging individuals suspected of harassing, menacing or threatening the Jewish community.

“There is no place for hate or violence in the Australian community.”

The arrest of the Queensland man came as Australia grapples with rising anti-Semitism following Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) documented 1,654 anti-Jewish incidents in Australia between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025, in addition to 2,062 incidents recoded in the previous year.

Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs said anti-Semitic comments on Australian social media surged to more than 17,100 on the day of the Bondi terror attack on Dec. 14, 2025, and rose to about 21,500 the following day, roughly 600 percent higher than the pre-attack average of 2,700 to 3,300 posts a day.

The ministry said its monitoring focuses on content containing terms almost exclusively associated with anti-Semitic rhetoric, including slurs and Holocaust denial language.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who was in Bondi in the days after the attack, said there was “deep concern and an unequivocal demand for decisive and concrete action” among the Australian Jewish community and claimed that “radical Islam” was driving the rise of anti-Semitism in the country.