Hate and vilification charges laid after alleged threats of violence

Charges of hate and vilification threats laid against man after Mossman raidPosted Wed 2 Sep 2026 at 1:15pmWed 2 Sep 2026 at 1:15pmPolice arrested a man and charged him with hate and vilification offences. (Supplied: QPS)In short:A man has been charged in Far North Queensland with making threats with serious vilification or hate crime aggravating circumstances.Police were responding to complaints of ideologically motivated threats of violence.What's next? The man will face court on September 21.Hate crime and vilification charges have been laid against an "ideologically motivated" man in Far North Queensland over "abusive, threatening and antisemitic content".Officers from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Queensland Police Service (QPS) said the content was directed at a religious organisation, the name of which was not revealed.The 52-year-old was arrested last Thursday on the Captain Cook Highway in the McAllister Range area, at the northern approaches to Cairns.It came after police searched a property in Mossman, in the Douglas Shire, about 70 kilometres north-west of Cairns.The man faces two charges of threats, aggravated by serious vilification or hate crime circumstances, which police allege relate to abusive, threatening and antisemitic content.AFP Detective Superintendent Anthony Conway said detectives had been following up on reports of "ideologically motivated threats of violence" when investigating the man's activities."Harm to social cohesion at a local community level ultimately impacts on Australia's national security," he said."We will not allow divisive and hateful rhetoric to grow and spread more widely."AFP detectives said the alleged offences constituted a threat to social cohesion. (ABC News: Conor Byrne)QPS Counter-Terrorism Investigation Group Detective Superintendent Heath Hutchings said the joint QPS-AFP Hate Crime Team revealed matters that had the "potential to impact community safety"."By combining the expertise, legislative capabilities and investigative resources of both agencies, we are better positioned to identify and respond to complex and emerging threats," he said.Investigations are continuing and the man has been listed to face his charges for the first time in Cairns Magistrates Court on September 21.