Man charged over alleged social media threat against federal minister

Posted Thu 3 Sep 2026 at 1:20pmThu 3 Sep 2026 at 1:20pmTanya Plibersek was allegedly the subject of a threat on social media in July. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)In short:A NSW Snowy Mountains man has been granted conditional bail after allegedly threatening a senior federal Labor politician in a social media post. Shannon Bennett is facing a charge of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill or cause serious harm, following an Australian Federal Police investigation. What's next?The 53-year-old will face court again on September 15. A NSW Snowy Mountains man has faced court over allegations he threatened federal government minister Tanya Plibersek in a social media post.Shannon Bennett is facing a charge of using a carriage service to make a threat to kill or cause serious harm, after he was arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers on Wednesday.The AFP said its National Security Investigations team had been investigating the matter since July, after it received a report of an alleged online threat to kill a federal parliamentarian.Investigators said they linked the alleged post to 53-year-old Mr Bennett and searched his Berridale home on Wednesday, where they seized a mobile phone for examination.Ms Plibersek declined to comment, citing it as a police matter before the courts. Bail grantedJudge Te'res Sia granted Mr Bennett conditional bail in Bail Division Court 3 on Thursday morning and told the court that the matter was "serious in its allegations".The court heard that the charge related to an alleged Facebook post from July 22. Judge Sia said while Mr Bennett's criminal history in Queensland and New South Wales was "not unblemished", he had "no entries of a similar or identical kind".Mr Bennett is not to go within 100-metres of Tanya Plibersek's electorate office in Redfern. (ABC News: Monish Nand)As part of his bail conditions, Mr Bennett is not allowed to use social media and he is not to go near or contact the Social Services minister. He must also not go within 100 metres of Ms Plibersek's electorate office in Sydney or Parliament House in Canberra, and must report to Cooma Police Station once a week.Mr Bennett appeared in court via audio-visual link from custody on Thursday and has not yet entered a plea.The maximum penalty for the offence is 10 years' imprisonment.The AFP said it established a National Security Investigations team in October 2025 to target people "causing high levels of harm to Australia's social cohesion, including the targeting of federal parliamentarians".Mr Bennett will face Queanbeyan Local Court on September 15.