‘Death to ...’: Offensive electronic sign in Brisbane’s suburbs leads to arrest

A Brisbane man who allegedly displayed an antisemitic electronic scrolling sign from his apartment window which began “death to...” has been arrested and charged.

Counter-terrorism detectives searched the home in Bundara Street, Morningside, on Wednesday, seizing the sign, a computer and a phone.

A 52-year-old Morningside man was arrested at the scene.

An antisemitic scrolling sign allegedly displayed from the window of a Morningside apartment in 2024.Credit: Queensland Police Service

Video of the arrest reveals a sign near the entrance to the unit that reads “Welcome to the nut house”.

A swastika necklace can be seen hanging on the wall inside the unit.

Police did not reveal the sign’s content, and several words were blurred in the video, but it was understood to have included an antisemitic and racist message against more than one group.

A bedroom inside the unit.Credit: Queensland Police Service

Police also accused the man of striking an officer to the forehead and eye.

Peter Allan Flanagan, 52, of Morningside was charged with serious racial, religious, sexuality, or gender vilification, serious assault and obstructing police, and appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday.

A Facebook page under Flanagan’s name, which includes photos of a man in the same apartment raided by police, includes several derogatory posts about Jewish people and other minorities.

A post from March last year described Australia as a “joke” where “freedom of speech” has been lost, argued that white Australians’ lives “don’t matter”, and railed against Jewish people, Indians and Africans, before concluding: “Hitler had the Wright idea,,,im proud to be white f--- the police.”

A still from a video provided by Queensland Police Service following a search of the man’s unit.Credit: Queensland Police Service

On December 17, 2022 – a few days after two police officers were shot dead by extremist Christian conspiracy theorists at Wieambilla in western Queensland – a post reads: “A good cop is a dead cop if it was me I would have killed all 4...”

Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg said incidents of hate against Jews in Queensland had reached unprecedented levels.

“In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks and fire-bombings in Melbourne and Sydney, many in our community are experiencing heightened fear and anxiety,” he said.

“Jewish Queenslanders deserve to feel safe and to live peacefully in one of the best states and countries in the world.”

Assistant Commissioner Charysse Pond said racial vilification would not be tolerated.

“We urge people to remain respectful and we strongly condemn anyone who incites violence and hatred within our community,” Pond said.

“There is no place for antisemitism or prejudice or hatred of any kind.

“As a result of a recent legislative change in Queensland, instances of serious vilification and hate crime are now criminal matters and police will act against those responsible.”

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