Bullets in the mail: Threats against politicians soar

Kershaw said it was “ridiculous” that some people seemed to think it was acceptable to threaten politicians because of political disagreements.

“Free speech does not extend to freely expressing how they plan to kill someone or sexually assault them,” he said.

“Where we can, and where we have the willingness of victims, we lay charges.”

Kershaw urged politicians to contact police for advice on how to protect themselves during the federal election because they may face increased risks.

“Australia’s politicians and high office holders are being targeted because they have a public profile, because of the comments they have made in the media or their positions on policy,” he said.

“However, in some cases, it appears male offenders are targeting women because they are women.

“The AFP will not tolerate this criminality and will take swift action.”

Kershaw said that “the nature of threats and comments directed at female parliamentarians and high office holders is particularly troubling, with a common feature being offensive material centred on derogatory language about their appearance”.

“Some of this material also contains extremely violent themes, including threats of graphic, sexual violence,” he said.

“These threats, which are being made online or are being sent in the post or over the phone, are sometimes also directed at their children.”

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A Victorian man was charged this month with allegedly making death threats and antisemitic comments to a federal member of parliament.

A Northern Territory man was charged last year with allegedly sending threatening and harassing emails to federal politicians.

The electorate offices of Defence Minister Richard Marles and Labor MPs Josh Burns and Peter Khalil have also been targeted with graffiti by anti-Israel protesters since the beginning of the war in Gaza.