A man who told federal Senator Fatima Payman there was a bullet with her name on it in a drunken, racist email tirade has been spared a jail term.
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Sean David Sharman, 51, from Ballarat in Victoria, was arrested on April 3 by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and charged with using a carriage service to make a threat to kill the Australian politician.
Magistrate Julia Barling said the threatening email was too offensive to read aloud in court.
"It is so offensive, it is disgusting," Magistrate Barling said.
"It is hateful, it is racist.
"She is a senator in Western Australia, I don't see what the connection is other than that she is a Muslim woman."
Magistrate Barling said Sharman's email was "clearly" targeted based on Senator Payman's gender, race and religion, and was "completely unacceptable".
It was a personal attack and an attempt to intimidate me in the role I hold on behalf of Western Australians and all Muslim women and women of colour.
- Senator Fatima Payman
'Go back to the desert'
The details of the email were previously heard in Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, August 19.
A portion of the email read: "Call me a racist all you want, but there is a 38 cal (calibre) with your name on it ... coming to your Muslim hateful waste of oxygen c--t head very, very soon.
"You and your Muslim lot should go back to the desert ... die c--t die, as all Muslims should."
Senator Payman is one of the youngest politicians in Australia to be elected to the upper house, and she is the first female member to wear a hijab.
The AFP easily traced the email back to Sharman, and when interviewed, he admitted to having sent it.
He was sentenced on Monday, November 17, to an 18-month Community Corrections Order, with conviction, but avoided a jail term.
Statement from Senator Payman
The court previously heard a victim impact statement from Senator Payman, testifying to the emotional trauma and fear the email had caused her.
"The threats and vile language used in the email sent by Sean Sharman have had a significant impact on my psychological, emotional and mental well-being," Senator Payman wrote.
"The words left me feeling scared and deeply unsettled. I was terrified of travelling to Victoria, knowing that Sean resided there, and I could not do so without the reassurance of my husband travelling alongside me so that I could feel safe enough to carry out my duties as a federal senator."
The WA Senator said she was "caught in a state of shock and disbelief" and struggled to comprehend what could drive someone to seek out her contact information and write "such a hateful and threatening message".
"It was a personal attack and an attempt to intimidate me in the role I hold on behalf of Western Australians and all Muslim women and women of colour," she wrote.
"I feel sorrow that Sean chose to act in a way, but I'm not sorry for reporting the email, not sorry that he was arrested and not sorry that he's being prosecuted.
"Actions have consequences, and behaviour of this nature must never be excused or minimised.
"This was not just an offensive email. It was an Islamophobic, xenophobic and violent threat, and I will not allow this type of conduct to be normalised.
"Every Australian deserves to feel safe, respected, and able to thrive in our democratic and multicultural society. I will continue to uphold that principle, not only for myself, but for all those who deserve better than to live in fear of hate and violence."
