Neo-Nazi Stefan Eracleous has been released on bail after being sentenced to jail for harassing Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe and NSW Liberal MP Kellie Sloane, including sending extremist and racially charged messages.
The 33-year-old former Young Liberal was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday to four months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to harassing both MPs. Under the sentence, he was set to serve two months before being released on a two-year recognisance release order.
However, less than half an hour after being taken into custody, Eracleous returned to court, where Magistrate James FitzGerald granted bail to allow him to appeal to the County Court. He will next appear before a court on October 1.
The court heard Eracleous sent multiple messages to Thorpe’s electoral office referencing “White Australia,” “white lives matter” and “heil Australia,” as well as “happy Australia Day.”
He also sent an image of a man wearing a turban labelled “fake Aussie,” and made comments about Thorpe’s daughter, suggesting she was “addicted to vapes” and should turn to petrol sniffing as it was “more culturally appropriate.”
Messages and calls were also sent to Sloane’s office, including claims she was “trying to appease the Jews,” calling her a “tyrant,” stating “heil Hitler,” and using abusive language towards staff.
During a police interview, Eracleous said “he wanted to show Senator Thorpe that he was not defeated after having been charged previously,” according to the court.
Magistrate FitzGerald said Eracleous “targets senator Thorpe on the basis of her race and cultural identity” and “demonstrates persistence” in his offending behaviour, calling it a “sustained personal attack on Ms Thorpe” that “has no place in…a democracy like ours.”
The court was told Eracleous has previous associations with the National Socialist Network and was a former Young Liberal who was later removed from the party on campus over anti-Islamic rhetoric.
He was described as having a “remarkable fall from grace over recent years” despite being a “high achiever at school.”
Under his bail conditions, Eracleous is barred from contacting Thorpe, Sloane, or their associates while his appeal proceeds.
Source: Daily Telegraph.
