Police are investigating an alleged threat by a defence contractor to bomb a Burgertory outlet owned by prominent Palestinian activist Hash Tayeh.
The threat to “park a couple of b0mb$” outside the hamburger restaurant in Melbourne’s northern suburbs was allegedly made on LinkedIn and posted under the profile of army veteran-turned-defence industry expert Guy Langford.
Tayeh at a rally in Melbourne in June 2024.Credit: AAPIMAGE
Victoria Police have confirmed an investigation into the social media post is under way.
“Police are investigating the circumstances following the report of an online post in relation to a business in Tullamarine on April 2,” a spokesperson said.
“No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.”
The Australian Federal Police, which also received a report about the threat via the National Security Hotline, declined to comment.
The post, which has since been removed, was made during a public discussion on LinkedIn among several people critical of Tayeh’s activism.
Langford could not be reached for comment at an email address and mobile phone number. The Age has not verified who was responsible for the post.
At the time, he was an employee of defence contractor BiORG, which received several complaints about the post.
In a statement, chief executive officer Doug Phillips said: “BiORG has terminated the employment of a staff member still under probation, for social media comments that breach our policies and do not align with our values.”
The Caulfield Burgertory shop was firebombed in November 2023.Credit: The Age
Langford’s LinkedIn profile, which has now been removed, said that he spent 22 years in the army as an armament specialist “repair[ing], modi[fying] and maint[aining] a wide range of military weapons systems, from 9mm handguns to 155mm artillery systems”.
Tayeh’s home and the now-closed Caulfield Burgertory outlet were firebombed in two separate incidents in 2023 and 2024.
There is no suggestion Langford is linked to those arson attacks.
Tayeh has become a prominent leader of the pro-Palestine movement in Melbourne following Hamas’ attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Tayeh declined to comment to The Age, but posted about the alleged threat on Instagram last week.
“They threatened to blow up my stores – and no one cares. I’m scared. I feel completely abandoned by the system,” he wrote.
“If the roles were reversed, if I had threatened to plant bombs outside someone’s business, I’d be arrested on the spot and plastered all over the media.”
In March, Tayeh became the first person in Australia to be charged by police with using insulting words in public for chanting “all Zionists are terrorists” at a pro-Palestine rally in the CBD last year. He is due to appear in court later this month.
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