Police are not ruling out laying further serious charges against Brendan Nugent, the man accused of attacking Haines, as detectives continue to examine possible motives and his potential connections to the sovereign citizen conspiracy movement.
A trail of deleted social media posts from Nugent reveals years of serious psychological struggle as police warn of a dangerous link between extreme ideology and “mental health vulnerabilities”.
Nugent appeared in Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court yesterday, staring vacantly from the dock as he was remanded behind bars without applying for bail.
Magistrate Allison Vaughan ordered that Nugent be seen by a mental health professional as he began his first-ever stint behind bars.
Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said yesterday detectives were still working to understand the “deliberate” attack and whether Nugent had any personal contact with Haines or had been waiting for her outside her Wangaratta office.
Nugent is to appear before court again in February.