Details emerge about man arrested over Helen Haines attack – as citizen’s arrest hero

The man accused of striking MP Helen Haines with his LandCruiser appears to be an anti-Israel activist who describes himself on social media as a ‘plant person’.

Brendan Nugent, 43, remains in police custody, where he’s expected to be formally interviewed by detectives today.

Police and anti-terror authorities are expected to probe Nugent’s social media activity as part of their inquiries.

A Twitter account under Nugent’s name previously posted about Israel’s war in Gaza and about a ‘satanic child sexual abuse material network’ just days ago.

A photo of the 1997 Toyota LandCruiser uploaded in 2018 has the same number plate as the vehicle allegedly used in Monday’s incident.

Nugent had engaged with Haines on X on several occasions – the last being six years ago.

A year earlier in October 2019, Nugent actually commended Haines on her stance on climate change.

‘Would’ve been nice to include a politician who takes climate change seriously, such as yourself,’ the account wrote.

The man who allegedly struck MP Helen Haines has been identified as Brendan Nugent.

The 43-year-old Tarrawingee man was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

Nugent spent the night in a police cell and will undergo a mental health assessment before he is formally interviewed by detectives.

‘That will occur today, and that will occur whilst the investigation continues and we further examine and analyse all available evidence,’ Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason told News 24.

No charges have yet been laid.

Supt Mason confirmed that the suspect was known to police but had not been on on the radar of law enforcement agencies recently.

He added there was no record of the vehicle which allegedly struck Haines as being stolen, adding that it was too early for police to have ascertained Nugent’s political leanings, or any potential motivation for the alleged attack.

‘The focus of the investigation will be to determine, why and how this occurred and whether it was an intentional or deliberate act,’ Supt Mason said.

‘There has been accounts that a U-turn (happened).’

According to sources, Nugent has a history of activism in the area who then strayed into ‘darker’ things.

Shocked Wangaratta locals have placed flowers and handwritten notes outside the electorate office of MP Helen Haines near where she was allegedly struck by a car on Monday afternoon.

The independent MP remains in a critical condition after she was airlifted to Melbourne to undergo emergency surgery.

Schoolchildren were among those to add to the growing shrine outside her office on Tuesday.

New details have emerged of how a driver made a U-turn into a car park before he allegedly rammed Indi MP Helen Haines into another vehicle and then reversed to hit her a second time.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke (pictured below) described witnesses’ accounts of the incident in a way that ‘no one will want to hear’.

‘Just so that people understand what happened at 3.30(pm) yesterday, what witnesses have described is the driver doing a U-turn to get into the car park and to ram Helen against a vehicle, then to reverse and do it a second time,’ he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.

‘A bystander ran towards the scene, got the driver out of the vehicle, and held the driver until police arrived.’

Burke added ‘no one would have thought’ Haines would be among the MPs most at risk of a violent attack.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll said security may be ramped up at the November state election following the alleged attack on Helen Haines.

‘I think this act of violence is just unfathomable that it’s occurred in Australia and we’ve got to stand up, call it out, and make sure that this is a turning point,’ he told ABC Radio.

‘Politicians, like anyone else, go to work every day, like your local nurses, supermarket employees … everyone expects to come home safely to their family, and that did not occur to one of the most beloved members of federal parliament yesterday.’

The humble Good Samaritan barber shop owner who dragged the man accused of deliberately running down MP Helen Haines from his LandCruiser, kicked away a flick knife, and pinned him to the ground has spoken publicly for the first time.

Father-of-three Ricky Jefferies was back at work at RickyChops Barbershop in Wangaratta at 7am Tuesday, just hours after his extraordinary act of bravery.

But he does not regard himself as a hero.

‘I didn’t realise the seriousness of the situation initially and once it became relevant, I just did what I could and what others were already trying to do,’ Mr Jefferies told reporters.

‘I basically asked him to jump out of the car and got him out of the car.

‘I had him sit on the ground and police got there within minutes.

‘ I don’t think I’m a hero. I was just a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish sort of way.’

Mr Jefferies is devastated about the reasons why his beloved town is in the headlines.

‘It’s very disappointing,’ he said.

‘It’s a beautiful town with beautiful people, and it’s sad that this is what brought everyone here.

‘There’s plenty of other reasons for you guys to be here filming. It’s a wonderful town full of wonderful people.’

His barber shop is next door to Haines’ electoral office.

‘She’s a genuine member of the community,’ Mr Jefferies added.

‘She does hold a role of significance, but she still is a local person.

‘She shops here, she gets a coffee here, she pops her head in.’

Helen Haines presented the Australian flag to local schools hours before she was struck by a car in an alleged attack.

‘Our national flags are powerful symbols of who we are as Australians – our history, our values and the country we’re proud to call home,’ the MP posted on Monday.

‘It’s been an honour to present flags to St Joseph’s Primary School in Benalla, local students undertaking Rotary exchanges, such as Lucy who is heading to Germany, and Kerribana Primary School in Baranduda.

‘I hope these flags inspire pride in our country and conversations about what it means to be Australian.’

A mother-of-three and grandmother, Helen Haines, 65, has served as an independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since 2019.

She grew up on a dairy farm in near Colac in southwestern Victoria before she studied nursing.

Haines began her career in the mid 1980s as a midwife at Wangaratta Base Hospital and was later appointed Director of Nursing at Chiltern Bush Nursing Hospital.

Haines is also a former health researcher.

While running as an independent candidate for the 2019 federal election, Haines advocated for an increase to the Jobseeker payment and strong action on climate change, including a target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

She became the first independent in Australian history to succeed another independent in a federal seat when she won the seat of Indi, replacing retiring MP Cathy McGowan.

Haines is widely known in Canberra and nationally as a strong voice for integrity and honesty in politics.

She played a key role in establishing the National Anti-Corruption Commission and has been a prominent advocate for rural issues, especially healthcare.

She has also urged Australia to impose sanctions on Israel and put greater pressure on the Netanyahu government to end the conflict, while calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza and urgent humanitarian aid.

Haines is also a passionate advocate for healthcare and regional Australia.

‘Regional Australia feed this country, power its economy and keeps us moving. So why are we $9.23billion behind on healthcare?’ she posted last week.

‘Our regions do their fair share for Australia. It’s time Australia did its fair share for our regions.

‘We need fairer health funding and a national plan to deliver the services, workers and infrastructure regional communities deserve.’

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has expressed sadness and horror after independent MP Helen Haines was struck by a car outside her electoral office in an alleged attack.

‘My thoughts are with Helen, her family and her staff. I wish her a full and speedy recovery, and I know Australians everywhere are wishing the same,’ the senator wrote on Monday night.

‘Police are investigating, and we should let them do their work.

‘Violence against any elected representative, whoever they are and whatever they stand for, is never acceptable in Australia.

‘Members of parliament and their staff must be able to serve their communities without fearing for their safety.

‘I thank the emergency services and the members of the public who rushed to help.’

The man who allegedly struck MP Helen Haines outside her electorate office has spent the night in custody at Wangaratta Police Station, where he will be interviewed by officers on Tuesday morning.

No charges have yet been laid.

‘He has been held overnight whilst the crime scene has been forensically examined and investigators will endeavour to interview him this morning,’ Acting Superintendent Ashley Mason told 774 ABC Melbourne.

He added Haines had been ‘standing behind another vehicle that was parked when she was struck.

The alleged attacker was not known to police or law enforcement agencies before Monday afternoon.

‘There’s certainly no recent intelligence that I’m aware of that put him on our radar, so to speak,’ Supt Mason said.

Anyone who was in the vicinity of Murphy Street in Wangaratta about 3.35pm on Monday and may have witnessed the vehicles involved in the incident are urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

‘If you have dashcam fitted to your motor vehicle, which may have captured the vehicles involved of this incident, to also make contact with police,’ Supt Mason said.

‘And if I could also say that at this stage, we are certainly treating this as an isolated incident, and there’s no intelligence that we are aware of to indicate that there is any further or ongoing threat to any individual or the broader community.’

The Good Samaritan bystander who leapt to MP Helen Haines’ aid and pulled the driver from his car to perform a citizen’s arrest has been identified as a local barber owner.

Father-of-three Ricky Jefferies leapt into action after witnessing the crash outside his Wangaratta barber shop next to the MP’s office.

With no thought for his own safety, Mr Jefferies pulled the man from the driver’s seat of the vehicle and wrestled him to the ground.

He found a flick knife in the man’s pocket, which he kicked away and held the man down until police arrived.

‘Richard overpowered him, searched him and found a knife in his pocket and threw it away. And then took him to the ground,’ his sister Tanya told Sunrise.

‘It’s a terrifying incident and shocking and we’re still kind of processing it, and I’m so scared of what could have happened.

‘Ricky didn’t end up being hurt, but it was such a serious incident.

He put himself in such danger along with everybody else who helped.’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Mr Jefferies on Tuesday morning.

‘It’s got to be said here that at this dark and terrible time, an element of light is the fact that a Good Samaritan, someone rushed to Helen’s defence in Wangaratta … and that person is a hero today,’ Albanese told Nine’s Today show.

‘And I just think that he deserves enormous praise and thanks for his intervention, which could have prevented even more further infliction of damage, which was aimed at Helen.’

Fellow local business owner Jessica Bear added: ‘He’s such a selfless person, and it definitely needs to be known about his bravery.

‘Ricky raced out when he thought that it was just a car accident, and he apprehended the man that was in the vehicle.’

Helen Haines remains in a critical condition, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

‘I spoke with her husband Phil last night, and she underwent surgery last night,’ he told Sunrise on Tuesday morning.

‘All of Australians’ thoughts are with the family, with her many friends, with her community. Helen Haines is someone of integrity.

‘She’s greatly admired right across the political spectrum. She’s someone who’s characterised by her kindness, her diligence, her intelligence, someone who is so proud of representing that beautiful part of Victoria.

‘And this is a tragic situation, and our thoughts are with her this morning and today, and we hope for a full recovery.’