A MAN who called the Newcastle office of Federal MP Sharon Claydon and threatened to burn the building "to the f---ing ground" after complaining about the government's "ute tax" and "the cost of the Aboriginal vote" has been sentenced to time served after spending the past five months behind bars.
Daniel Sheehan, 32, of Adamstown, was serving a number of community corrections orders for assaulting and intimidating police and resisting arrest when he called the electoral office on April 3 this year and spoke to a staff member.
Identifying himself as "Daniel James", Sheehan made a "series of adverse comments" about the government's "ute tax" and "the cost of the Aboriginal vote", according to court documents.
The staff member said she was going to hang up because she was having trouble hearing Sheehan over the wind on his end.
But before the call disconnected, Sheehan made a vague threat involving something being "set on fire".
He then called straight back, complained some more about his gripes and then uttered: "I hope you're not in the office in two weeks if this passes because I'm going to burn the place to the f---ing ground".
He was arrested at work the next day and admitted to calling the MP's office, he said so he could "vent his frustration with the Labor government".
"The threat would have come in by way of me saying at the end of the phone call [that] I certainly hope that you're not there when, if that place gets burned to the ground," Sheehan tried to explain. "[Because] I wasn't saying that I would burn it to the ground. I truly believe Australians are fed up and will end up burning that place to the ground because they have let this country down, especially the people of Newcastle, who have always been loyal to the Labor government."
Sheehan was charged with using a carriage service to threaten serious harm and because he was in breach of the community corrections orders, which were first imposed four years ago but were breached in 2022 because Sheehan had failed to complete the community service work, he was refused bail.
He later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend and appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Friday via audio visual link from the mid north coast correctional centre to be sentenced.
Magistrate Ian Cheetham sentenced Sheehan to a maximum of nine months, with a non-parole period of five months, the equivalent of time served and he was released on a 12-month recognizance release order.
