‘Internet rabbit hole’: why man sent threats to mosque
A man who drank alcohol and drank Sky News before sending threatening letters encouraging violence against Muslims and First Nations people will avoid further prison time.
Raymond John Brookes, who had been detained for three months, sent a four-page document to Sydney’s largest mosque in Lakemba in January.
He also pleaded guilty to four counts of sending a document threatening to kill, sending the coffin to independent Western Australian senator Fatima Payman.
Titled “V for Vendetta”, it called for revenge against Muslims, Aboriginal people, Torres Strait Islanders, Labor, the Greens and journalists it described as “socialists”, often making stray criticisms.
Brookes appeared wearing prison-issued greenery at a hearing at Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday via video link from Silverwater prison.
His lawyer told the court the isolated 70-year-old had gorged himself on a steady diet of extremist views fueled by alcohol and compounded by tenancy problems and disabilities.
“The combination of many things made him the perfect person to be brainwashed by certain types of media or certain types of propaganda,” his lawyer Danilo Rajkovic said. he said.
“He had been in isolation for several months, drinking to sleep most days, watching Sky News and going on YouTube.
“He kind of fell down an internet rabbit hole.”
Mr Rajkovic said the letters contained a confused mix of left and right ideologies.
The Belmore man called for anyone protesting at Invasion Day rallies to be “beaten to death” in the street and demanded a ban on protests and immigration.
After berating Brookes for his “disgraceful attitude”, Judge George Breton ordered intensive corrections for 15 months with strict supervision and no alcohol consumption.
Brookes had been detained since January 24.
Judge Breton said the man’s “shouting and babbling” showed hatred towards society.
“Inciting hatred and violence…seems to be on the rise in our world,” the judge said, citing the Bondi attack in December and current geopolitical conflicts as examples.
“People like you, Mr. Brookes, fill (the world) with more hate.”
Two of Brookes’ letters were sent to the Lakemba mosque, the spiritual home of Australia’s Muslim community.
One addressed “Mullah”, mistakenly referring to the senior Muslim cleric, and the other addressed the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network (AMAN).
The advocacy group’s mailing address was incorrect, but it has been subject to racist vitriol in recent years, encouraged by political rhetoric about Muslims.
“It intensifies with the political environment and is particularly intense at the moment,” an AMAN spokesman told AAP.
“Politicians collectively need to stop blaming our society and religion. These are the biggest risks to our public safety.”
