Woman sentenced over assault on Senator Lidia Thorpe
A Victorian woman who attacked Lidia Thorpe outside the MCG has been ordered to engage in anger management after admitting her role in the “public spectacle” from which the independent senator said she will never recover.
Footage of the incident, which took place after an AFL match in 2024, shows Ebony Jan Bell, 29, hitting Thorpe on the head, pulling her hair and bystanders tried to intervene before Bell and others fell to the ground.
As the two groups separate, Thorpe, wearing a Richmond guernsey outfit, can be seen shouting and pointing at the woman from Preston as they both walk away.
The case was shrouded in secrecy for more than a year after Thorpe’s legal team obtained a suppression order preventing details of the hearings from being published. The reasons for the closure decision cannot be disclosed due to legal reasons.
Bell appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday after admitting the assault, which occurred at around 10.30pm following Dreamtime in the ‘G clash between Essendon and Richmond on May 25, 2024.
Thorpe watched the hearing via a video link with his camera turned off. He said afterwards that the case had been “a difficult experience made even more difficult by public speculation and accusations.”
“My wounds will not heal completely; but I want to give it up,” Thorpe wrote.
“I had never met this person before the incident. I had no idea who he was.”
Following the attack, Thorpe announced that he would be unable to attend parliament in Canberra for a period of time as he had been instructed by a doctor not to travel after suffering nerve and spinal cord injuries in his neck. He said he needed spine surgery and plate insertion.
He said this left a scar on the front of his neck.
Bell was arrested and charged two months after the incident.
On Friday, judge Jill Prior said the unplanned attack was clearly a response to a trigger that had occurred on the night, causing Bell to become “enraged” outside the stadium and attack Thorpe along with another man and woman.
Prior said it was particularly concerning that the incident occurred on a night recognizing First Nations culture, which the broader community is called to respect.
“Violence in society must be condemned. It not only has a direct impact on victims, but also on society as a whole,” Prior said.
“Memories are long and moments have far-reaching consequences.”
Bell was also sentenced to prison for violence that occurred while he was on bail for the MCG attack on Friday.
The court heard Bell assaulted a security guard at the Whalers Hotel in Warrnambool in August 2025 after being refused entry to the playground.
In the security camera of the same attack, which was also shown to the court, Bell was seen shouting at the security guard who was not allowed to enter. He walked towards Timor Street where the man fell to the ground and was attacked when members of the public stopped to intervene.
Prior said Bell appeared drunk and angry and hit the security guard as he left the venue.
“I accept that you thought it was the fact that you were Aboriginal that prevented you from entering,” the judge said.
“Needless to say, the incident had an impact. [the victim] deeply.”
The 29-year-old has since pleaded guilty to charges including recklessly causing injury, unlawful assault, common law assault and refusing to leave licensed premises in relation to both incidents.
The court heard Bell was a proud Yorta Yorta and Gunditjmara woman whose supportive family had championed the culture for many years.
He was affected by intergenerational trauma but was described as consistent, reliable and respected by his colleagues at work.
The prosecution had called for both a community corrections order and a prison sentence to be imposed simultaneously, citing the public spectacle of the crime in 2024.
But Prior said ignoring Bell’s personal circumstances would mean condemning him as someone other than himself.
The judge ordered Bell to comply with a 12-month community corrections order with conditions including that Bell undertake anger management programs and alcohol and drug addiction treatment.
He must also pay a $300 fine.
“You need to get help with this. You need to do these things,” Prior said.
Outside court Bell said he knew the “truth” about what was going on outside the MCG before admitting his guilty plea. “It is,” he said.
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