ABC have named a Greek-Cypriot Australian as one of two Australian Neo-Nazis behind the video of a masked man burning the Aboriginal flag and denigrating Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe.
Neos Kosmos has decided not to name him as to not bring shame onto his family.
The Greek-Cypriot Australian was allegedly found to be behind a racist harassment campaign targeting Senator Thorpe and other high-profile Indigenous Australians, a campaign that has intensified with the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum.
The video, which sparked national outrage and condemnation last week, was published on X, formerly Twitter, by an anonymous account and depicted a man in a balaclava standing in front of a fire.
The Neo Nazi’s voice was digitally altered but he could be heard referring to First Nations Australians in racist terms before ending the video with a Nazi salute.
Authorities have not confirmed the identity of the man in the video or its origin.
While Australian Federal Police (AFP) are investigating the video, ABC Investigations completed a forensic analysis themselves and believe the two men, who are allegedly members of the white supremacist group National Socialist Network, to be the culprits.
During a press conference on Thursday, Thorpe – who has been campaigning for a NO vote – accused the AFP of failing to protect her from racist threats and abuse, saying: “For four months I wasn’t allowed to be in my home because people want to kill me out there”.
On January 17 2022, a separate video was published with three masked men once again burning the Aboriginal flag and deriding Thorpe, and ABC allege that data analysis links the two videos to the same parties.
The AFP reportedly searched the home of the alleged Greek-Cypriot Australian perpetrator in June this year, seizing three electronic devices and charging them with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence.
According to the ABC, the person has denied being part of the video and has declined to answer questions of who was involved.
ABC Investigations also analysed more than two-and-a-half years of the person’s online footprint and say they found abuse toward the Senator from as early as May 2021.
Its been alleged that more than 500 “racist, sexist or derogatory” references to Thorpe were made on a now-deleted Telegram channel between April 2020 and September 2023.
They share that further attacks were ramped up following her press conference and that other high-profile Indigenous figures like academic Marcia Langton were targeted during the referendum.
The Greek-Cypriot Australian has denied the allegation.
