Man who allegedly drove into Australian lawmaker said to post online about Gaza

By ToI Staff and Agencies Today, 6:35 am

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This frame grab taken from video footage provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on October 19, 2026 via AFPTV shows police officers at the scene after Australian independent lawmaker Helen Haines was struck by a car and suffered critical injuries outside her office in Wangaratta, about 200 kilometers northeast of Melbourne. (AFP/AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION)

A man accused of deliberately driving into an Australian member of parliament reportedly posted against Israel on social media.

The suspect who drove into Helen Haines is identified in Australian media as 43-year-old Brendan Nugent, a longtime environmental activist.

According to the Australian News.com.au news site, Nugent aired a number of grievances on his X account, including about the war in Gaza.

The most recent post on the account attributed to him concerned news that Italy was probing Defense Minister Israel Katz and other Israeli officials over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists.

The account attributed to Nugent wrote: “This investigation also involves sexual abuse, including rape, during processing and detention by israeli forces.”

He also posted a video from “Voice of Gaza” about growing food “in a genocide” and repeatedly issued fundraising calls for Gazans.

In May 2024, the account responded to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong writing: “You have not been clear on anything other than giving israel impunity to kill thousands of children.”

Local media reports that Haines lost her leg in the attack. She was hit yesterday by a Toyota Land Cruiser outside her office in the town of Wangaratta, northeast of Melbourne.

The driver was then arrested and police found a knife in his car.

It is not clear if there is any connection between Nugent’s purported views on Gaza and the alleged attack on Haines. In a statement on Haines’s website, she said she is “appalled by the ongoing loss of life in Gaza” and called for an immediate ceasefire while also condemning Hamas.