Sam Dastyari video: attacker apologises after rebuke from mother
ONE of the men involved in the racist attack on Sam Dastyari has written a letter of apology to the Senator after receiving a scolding from his mother over the incident.
NSW
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ONE of the men involved in the racist attack on Sam Dastyari says he has written a letter of apology to the Senator after receiving a scolding from his mother over the incident.
Lachlan Spalding, 21, was with convicted stalker Neil Erikson and fellow ultranationalist Ricky Turner when they ambushed the Senator in a pub in Melbourne calling him a “monkey” and a “terrorist” earlier this week.
Senator Dastyari was attending a promotional event for his book One Halal Of A Story on Wednesday night when at least three men approached and abused him and Labor colleague Tim Watts while filming the altercation.
Mr Spalding does not speak in the video of the attack which was published by Erikson to social-media but can seen laughing and dancing in the background.
He told The Daily Telegraph he was sorry for his involvement in the incident.
“I’ve sent the Senator a message on Facebook and would be happy to apologise to him in person for my actions,” he said.
“I realise that there are other ways to get my political opinions across than getting in someone’s face with a camera and making them feel uncomfortable.”
Mr Spalding’s mother Rosetta Milne told The Daily Telegraph yesterday said she had been disgusted when she saw her son in the video and told him if he ever did something like that again she would kick him out of home.
Ms Milne said she was “shocked and horrified” when she saw her son in the video yesterday. “I’ve told him if he every does anything like that again he’s out of here,” she said.
“Everyone has a right to be safe when they’re out in public,” she said.
“I had been planning on apologising before I spoke to my mother,” Mr Spalding said.
“But I respect her and listened to what she said”.
“I don’t think name calling is the best way to get your point across...I am looking to go into politics and next time I approach a situation I will be more calm.”
He said he could understand why people viewed the ambush as racist.
“I don’t have a problem with the Senator,” he said.
Mr Erikson denied his comments were racist, saying that he simply wanted to make Senator Dastyari “uncomfortable” over what he claimed was his “dual citizenship”.
“I wanted to hurt his feelings after he called me a redneck and thought calling him a terrorist would upset him,” he said.