During a hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court for independent crime reporter Ryan Naumenko, who appeared via video link after being charged with breaching an intervention order, two unidentified individuals joined the video call and verbally abused him and his mother. The outburst included profanity-laced attacks on both Naumenko and his mother, who was previously targeted in a suspected revenge attack over her son’s reporting. The hearing descended into chaos until the magistrate disconnected everyone from the feed to restore order. Deputy Chief Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge emphasized the importance of personal appearances in court following this incident.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Trolls have gatecrashed a courtroom video link to launch a vile torrent of abuse at the mother of an independent crime reporter during a hearing in Melbourne.
asserted
Trolls → gatecrashe → Melbourne
Outlaw Media's Ryan Naumenko appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday by video link after being charged with breaching an intervention order.
But the hearing was thrown into chaos when two unknown intruders logged into the video feed with their cameras switched off to verbally abuse Naumenko and his mother.
asserted
cameras → appear → Naumenko
You're a bad dog,' one of the unseen men said.
asserted
one → say → men
'Ryan's mum got a d***y ***p, the f***ing dog.'
asserted
mum → get → p
Naumenko's mother was allegedly targeted by machete-wielding thugs last October in a suspected revenge attack over his reporting.
uncertain
mother → target → reporting
Deputy Chief Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge ordered the link to be cut but the abuse continued despite his order.
asserted
abuse → order → order
You get that, f*** his mum,' one of the men shouted.
asserted
one → get → men
The hearing was only brought to order when everyone present on the video link, including watching media, was cut from the feed.
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everyone → bring → feed
Ryan Naumenko's mum was savaged in a vile court video outburst on Tuesday
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mum → savage → Tuesday
In the wake of the outburst, the magistrate lectured Naumenko on the importance of appearing in court in person.
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magistrate → lecture → person
'This is a perfect example as to why you don't appear online.
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you → appear → ?
You appear in court,' he said.
asserted
he → appear → court
'You appear in court on the next occasion this matter is listed.
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matter → appear → occasion
Do you understand?'
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you → understand → ?
Rattled Naumenko later told the Daily Mail he was disgusted by the attack.
asserted
he → rattle → attack
'How on earth can they allow random strangers to get on a video link and carry on that way?' he said.
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he → allow → link
'I mean it is sheer contempt of court and it's kind of ironic considering the reasons I was in court in the first place.'
Naumenko said he had been charged with breaching an intervention order placed on him to protect former bikie and disgraced ABC reporter Mahmood Fazal.
asserted
he → mean → bikie
The former Four Corners reporter was sacked by the national broadcaster in May after launching an unauthorised podcast in late 2025 with Naumenko.
uncertain
reporter → sack → Naumenko
Naumenko's mum's house was trashed in an alleged home invasion last year
Ryan
asserted
house → trash → invasion
Naumenko was admonished by the magistrate after being abused by online hecklers
Naumenko and Fazal parted ways following a falling-out, with Naumenko making a series of accusations, including that Fazal had demanded payment in cryptocurrency without disclosing the paid job to his ABC supervisor.
'
asserted
Fazal → admonish → supervisor
I just find that it's absolutely wild that [Fazal] has taken time out of his life to go to the police to try to prosecute a non-issue breach, like literally mentioning his name in a YouTube chat and mentioning his last name on a podcast interview, is wild,' Naumenko told the Daily Mail.
asserted
Naumenko → find → Mail
'I don't even understand why I have been made to go to court and why the police went ahead and breached me.
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police → understand → me
'Not to mention that that IVO was made in record time without even me being allowed to appear to defend myself when that IVO was issued.
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IVO → mention → myself
Under the court's rules, random participants are not supposed to be allowed to join court video links.
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participants → suppose → links
The rules were implemented to prevent a repeat of the chaotic scenes that took place in December 2021 when hundreds of anti-lockdown campaigners flooded the public video link to heckle then-Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.
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hundreds → implement → Andrews
The matter involving Andrews hit court when an anti-lockdown activist attempted a private prosecution against him.
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activist → involve → him
On Tuesday, Naumenko's lawyer Aabed Anaki told the court his client would contest the charge when it returned to court in December.
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it → tell → December
Mahmood Fazal took out an intervention order against Naumenko after their falling-out
-
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Fazal → take → out
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asserted
you → need → Download
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Mail → launch → podcast
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Last year's alleged attack on his mother came just days after Naumenko told the Daily Mail's The Trial Australia podcast how his coverage of Melbourne's tobacco wars had nearly cost him his life.
asserted
coverage → gain → life
In February, detectives from Victoria Police's Gang Crime Squad charged a 17-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man over the alleged home invasion.
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detectives → charge → invasion
The Aporia
