Alleged Helen Haines attacker wrote anti-Israel, pro-Iran posts

The man who has been arrested in connection with an attack on MP Helen Haines has been named as Brendan Nugent. A social media account, which has been identified as his, suggests Nugent is a virulently anti-Israel activist, as well as a passionate environmentalist.

Haines has had a leg amputated after she was struck by a vehicle outside her electorate office in Wangaratta on Tuesday.

The X account, which appears to belong to Nugent, is a key focus of the investigation by police and anti-terror authorities, The Australian reported.

Posts and reposts seen by The Jewish Independent show Nugent denying antisemitism.

After an article by Patricia Karvelas on the ABC reporting declining social cohesion and increasing antisemitism in February 2024, Nugent accused Karvelas of conflating antisemitism with “anti-genocidal sentiment”, writing “it's not like you don't know this is anti-Zionist sentiment not anti-Jewish sentiment”.

Nugent repeatedly accuses Israel of genocide, condemns the Australian and US governments and shows support for Iran.

When Foreign Minister Penny Wong called out antisemitism, Nugent posted a response claiming Australia's Pine Gap intelligence facility “helps Israeli intelligence bomb children in Gaza”.