Key Points
- A Victorian independent candidate has condemned a man after claims he poured kerosene into her office building.
- Sophie Torney, running for Kew, described the man's acts as an "attack on democracy".
A Victorian independent candidate has condemned a self-described "anti-abortion activist" after alleging he poured kerosene into her campaign office to "intimidate" her.
Sophie Torney, who is running as a teal candidate for the seat of Kew in Melbourne's inner-east, said a family member claimed they witnessed the man throwing pine bark mulch against the front door of her office on Saturday night. The man fled the scene immediately after being confronted.
On Sunday morning, Ms Torney's campaign team alleged they discovered kerosene had also been poured under the door.
Ms Torney said the same man allegedly entered her campaign office earlier in the week where he "screamed profanities" at female volunteers, who described the encounter as "confronting and frightening".
"The intent of pouring kerosene is clear," she said.
Ms Torney described the man's alleged actions as an "attack on democracy".
"This is a condemnable act of political intimidation, an attempt to frighten and silence people who support a woman's right to make their own reproductive choices," she said.
Ms Torney said police officers attended the scene and were liaising with nearby businesses for CCTV footage to identify the man responsible.
Her campaign office opened just over a week ago, hosting an office warming for the general public on 10 September.
Victorian Teal independent candidate Sophie Torney said a man doused pine bark mulch in front of her new campaign office ahead of the state election. Source: Facebook / Sophie Torney
"This act of political intimidation, which could have resulted in a tragedy, has no place in Australia and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," the Liberal politician wrote on Twitter.
"I hope the perpetrator is brought to justice."
Kew is a suburb that falls in the federal seat of Kooyong, one of several electorates snatched by a wave of teal independents in this year's federal election.
Inspired by the teals' success at a federal level, Ms Torney is running against Liberal Jess Wilson in Victoria's upcoming election to become the new member for Kew.
A spokesperson for Victoria Police confirmed to SBS News that it received a report on Sunday of a man "making threats against staff" at an office building in Kew. They said investigations were ongoing.
