Teen allegedly threatened to kill Israeli president
A teenager has appeared in court for allegedly threatening Israeli President Isaac Herzog ahead of his contentious visit to Australia.
19-year-old Darcy Tinning was accused of threatening to shoot the head of state with a gun and kill US President Donald Trump in a post he shared on the social media platform X on January 19.
His threat to Herzog included a violent statement referencing extinction that federal prosecutors said constituted hate speech and risked inciting others with similar views.
The Newtown man was arrested on Wednesday and appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday.
Given the Israeli president is scheduled to arrive in Australia on Sunday, the prosecutor said the teenager posed a risk to society due to the violent nature of the threats.
He noted that the threat against Herzog was made amid rising tensions following the Bondi terrorist attack in December.
“The current hot climate and social unrest make the threats very serious,” the prosecutor said.
“There are unacceptable risks that cannot be mitigated if the defendant is released in this climate of political unrest.”
Tinning’s lawyer, Brendan Green, acknowledged his client’s comments were “wholly inappropriate” and could result in a significant prison sentence, but insisted they were not directed at any specific person or group.
He said there was no real suggestion that the teenager would carry out the threats.
Green told the court that neither Tinning nor his family had access to firearms and had no history of violence.
The Israeli president was controversially invited to Australia by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people.
During the five-day trip, he will meet terror attack survivors, senior Australian politicians and Jewish community leaders.
Thousands of Australians are expected to take to the streets in every capital city to protest his visit, citing Israeli culpability for starving and bombarding Palestinians in Gaza.
Among those planning to attend Sydney is NSW Labor backbencher Sarah Kaine, who said she was concerned about Herzog’s visit.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate, given that he signed off on bombs that targeted civilians and killed children in Gaza,” he told AAP on Thursday.
“I understand that the Jewish community is grieving, but there is a large Palestinian population in Australia who is also grieving, and having this man in our country is traumatic.”
Herzog had previously stated that the Palestinians bore collective guilt in the attack carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, and later clarified his words.
The United Nations Human Rights Council commission of inquiry in September found that this statement could reasonably be interpreted as incitement to genocide.
A genocide case against Israel was referred to the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his alleged responsibility for war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare.
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