Unemployed Aussie keyboard warrior who issued a chilling threat to kill Albo and a state premier learns his fate

By AARON BUNCH FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: 07:59, 26 June 2026 | Updated: 08:04, 26 June 2026 A lack of housing and Australia's immigration policies prompted a young man to threaten to kill the prime minister and the NSW premier on social media, a court has heard. Will James King, 20, was sentenced on Friday to seven months' imprisonment, conditionally suspended for 12 months, for sending the threat in a direct message to Chris Minns' Instagram account in January. 'You're a Jew, not a real Semite,' the message read out in Mandurah Magistrates Court on Friday said. 'You're an Ashkenazi Jew. Anti-Semitism does not apply to you or to any other Jews. You're the Gentiles. 'I'll assassinate you and Albo, and the country will be a better place.' Defence lawyer Tendayi Chivunga said King was triggered by the state of housing and immigration issues, and had been reading political articles and online comments before he sent the messages. King's actions were hyperbolic, rage-filled venting using his keyboard in frustration over his powerlessness, and he had no intent to carry out the threat, she said, quoting a psychological report. The 'difficult political climate' following the murderous Bondi Beach shootings and the tough economic situation facing young Australians also gave context to his offending, Ms Chivunga said. 'This was an emotional and immature outburst,' she said. Will James King, 20, leaves court after he was sentenced to seven months' imprisonment, conditionally suspended for 12 months King issued a threat on social media to kill Prime Minister Anthony Albanese((pictured) and NSW Premier Chris Minns Magistrate Clare Cullen said King had engaged in anti-Semitic hate speech, and his words had historically been used to spread hostility, prejudice and discrimination against Jewish people. 'Anti-Semitism and any form of hate speech stand in opposition to the Australian values of respect, fairness, and liberty,' she said. 'Hate speech, coupled with the word assassinate in your message, conveyed a meaning of sinister intent, and your words were uttered at the time of heightened social unrest.' Parliamentarians have a right to serve the community without being subject to threats of violence and intimidation. 'The ability for our politicians to carry out their duties is of prime importance to a well-functioning, democratic society, and the courts regard attacks on those in public office as a grave breach of the law,' Ms Cullen said. King, an unemployed construction worker, was disconnected from the words written on a screen and the real world, the court heard. 'The cowardice of keyboard warriors is all too common in modern-day life,' Ms Cullen said. 'This mentality that you can say what you want when you want, regardless of harm and distress that it causes ... cannot be tolerated.' The court heard that Will James King (pictured) was triggered by Australia's housing crisis, along with immigration Ms Cullen noted the Australian Federal Police had recorded a 42 per cent increase in December 2024 in incidents involving harassment and threatening communications against politicians from the year prior. 'The message is not getting out there,' she said. Detectives from WA's State Security Investigations team went to King's Mandurah home, about 70km south of Perth, soon after he made the post and arrested him. King told them he didn't mean the message to be a threat. He did not comment when questioned by reporters outside court. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.