Inner West Man Charged After Homophobic Graffiti Spree

A man has been arrested and charged with 53 graffiti offences after weeks of homophobic and racist vandalism across the inner west.

21-year-old Felix Kiera was arrested and taken to Newtown police station early Sunday morning. He has been charged with 21 counts of knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol, 23 counts of property damage, eight graffiti charges, and one count of trespass.

He was allegedly seen by patrolling officers, spray painting offensive graffiti over stickers welcoming First Nations and LGBTQIA+ communities to plant store Wattle and Bee in Petersham.

Owner Felicity Moody posted a video on social media saying that the ongoing incidents had been “disturbing to the community”.

“This is actually the third time this has happened, and it doesn’t put me off at all. I will just clean it up and put it back on again,” she said.

Police allege Keira had been damaging buildings and political posters in the lead up to the federal election, specifically targeting queer, Indigenous, Jewish communities, and The Greens.

He was refused bail and is scheduled to appear at Newtown Local Court on Monday.

Spree of graffiti in April

On April 29, the Inner West Police Area Command took to social media to appeal to the public for information following a spree of homophobic and racist graffiti across Newtown and Erskineville.

Police had located 27 political posters, and two structures in Newtown that had been damaged in the early hours of April 22.

The incident included the spray-painting of a swastika over a sign on the Imperial Hotel declaring the venue was “proudly LGBTQIA+”,

Public display of Nazi symbols is banned in NSW, and carries a maximum penalty of 12 months’ imprisonment, or a $11,000 fine, or both.

“Given the symbol was also painted onto a number of other buildings and signs in the Erskineville and Newtown area, it does not appear to be targeted specifically at the Impy,” said COO Richie Haines.

A number of corflutes belonging to candidates across multiple parties were also vandalised across the suburbs, with the posters of Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi targeted with Islamophobic and ableist slurs, and swastikas.

Speaking to Star Observer at the time, the senator called the act “vile and cowardly” and attributed it to the Greens’ “unwavering stance” on Palestine.

“It’s a disturbing reflection of the racism, Islamophobia and harassment that continues to target those who dare to speak up for Palestinian lives and human rights.”