Man accused of 'ramming' MP Helen Haines pictured leaving court for first time

Man accused of 'ramming' MP Helen Haines pictured leaving court for first time The so-called 'activist' was not on the police's radar before the attack, the head of Victoria Police said on Wednesday as Nugent made his first appearance in court The man accused of ‘ramming’ an Australian MP with his car ‘twice’, causing her to lose a leg, has been pictured leaving court for the first time. Brendan Nugent, 43, is alleged to have driven his Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4 at 65-year-old MP Dr Helen Haines in Wangaratta, a small city in rural Australia, at 3:35pm on Monday, October 19. It has been reported Dr Haines has lost a leg, and is fighting to save another, after she was pinned between the Toyota and another vehicle parked outside her office. Victoria state police allege it was a ‘targeted’ incident. Brendan Nugent, from Tarrawingee nearby to Wangaratta, was charged on Tuesday with intentionally causing serious injury, dangerous driving causing serious injury and causing harm to a federal official. Officers say he could face more charges. According to eyewitnesses cited by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and other officials, the suspect drove past Haines as she stood at the trunk of her parked car, before turning and driving back to ram into her. The driver then reversed and struck Haines again, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said. The suspect was subdued by a crowd of bystanders, one of whom removed a knife from the driver’s pocket. Others rushed to help Haines, who was pinned between vehicles. Nugent made his first appearance in court on Wednesday. At Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court, less than one minutes’ walk from the scene of the incident, he did not apply for bail or enter a plea, according to Australian Associated Press . The BBC reported he sat emotionless and did not say a word during the short hearing in a packed courtroom. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance in February. In a press conference held on the same day, Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush told reporters in Melbourne that Nugent was not considered ‘an immediate threat’. A statement issued from the Nugent family said Dr Haines had been a family friend ‘for more than 20 years and what happened to her yesterday is devastating and unfathomable’. The case continues to grip Australia, which does not have a history of violence against politicians. In the UK, two MPs — Jo Cox and David Amess — have been murdered in the last decade.