Green MP Benjamin Doyle is addressing, for the first time, the public reaction to some of their social media posts, which have prompted a series of death threats.
A report from a global security company says Green MP Benjamin Doyle faces violence and stalking threats 15-25% likely to be realised.
The security specialists behind the report told the Herald threat levels are rising and any MP could be impacted.
MPs said to need training to understand the “more complex and unpredictable” safety environment NZ has entered.
Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle is at risk of a physical, violent attack as a result of online activity driven by a “hostility network” an expert report has identified.
The report is a formal risk analysis carried out by New Zealand-based global security risk-management firm GRC Group, ledby former NZ Special Air Service (SAS) operator Chris Kumeroa.
It found there was a 15%-25% chance of a physical attack on Doyle and the biggest threat is “lone-actor vigilante violence” or some other form of “radicalised justice-seeking”.
GRC Group specialises in national security and intelligence threats faced in both the public and private sectors. It has worked for local and overseas government agencies, a range of political parties and for individual MPs, and has assisted with the safe delivery of major public events.
Its report was based on two weeks of detailed daily reporting compiled by disinformation researcher Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa which were provided to the Herald and passed to GRC.
Hattotuwa had gathered and analysed social media, alternative media and mainstream media coverage of Doyle from March 29 to April 12.
GRC’s report said a “hostility network” of politicians, commentators, conspiracy theorists, alternative media outlets and those opposed to the rainbow community had produced dehumanising and violent commentary capable of encouraging or inspiring action from a lone-wolf attacker.
Police investigators are in contact with the MP and are working with parliamentary security as part of this investigation, which is the usual process undertaken for all serious threats to MPs
“Much of the threat is socially motivated, rooted in deep-seated transphobia, moral panic, and conspiratorial thinking - often under the guise of ‘child protection’” it stated.
The work by Hattotuwa charted an extraordinary wave of hate directed at Doyle over that two-week period.
Hattotuwa told the Herald it was at a level not directed at any politician before or since - other than former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle told the Herald it felt “stark” to see the security findings about his personal safety laid out in such a clinical and statistical manner. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It found Doyle’s partner’s name and job - and child’s name - had been published, along with many direct threats of physical violence and death.
The researcher identified proposed law changes to expand citizen’s arrest powers as another factor that could add to the danger of vigilante justice.
Hattotuwa’s work measured sentiment towards Doyle as negative, hostile, and suspicious.
“They are frequently and intensely accused of being a danger to children, with many users labelling them a ‘paedophile’, ‘groomer’, ‘predator’, or ‘deviant’.”
“It doesn’t surprise me but I still find it somehow shocking or jarring… It’s very jarring having it laid out like that."
The GRC report continued. Beyond physical violence, it said Doyle was at a high risk - 75% to 85% chance - of being subjected to stalking and harassment.
It attributed this to “persistent associations to unfounded criminal allegations”. Police are not investigating Doyle.
The report said it there was a “moderate risk” Doyle would be approached in public or near home “particularly by individuals radicalised online”.
The report found that Doyle had been targeted since entering Parliament in October 2024 with a “campaign of hostility” escalating since then.
It said hostility had “intensified” with the resurfacing of the social media posts, “used to frame Doyle as morally corrupt or dangerous, particularly in relation to their role as Early Childhood Education spokesperson”.
“The threats are fuelled by homophobic and transphobic narratives, compounded by accusations of paedophilia and conspiratorial rhetoric linking Doyle to broader ideological conflicts.”
“These dynamics have mobilised fringe political commentators, alternative media, and online agitators into an environment where vigilantism, public harassment, or even physical violence are plausible.”
The GRC report said the online hostility towards Doyle would “persist and remain highly charged”, spiking again when they appeared in media or in public.
Kumeroa said: “GRC Group suspects the nation will see this more often as opposing ideological groups entrench themselves.
“This is essentially the manufacturing of moral panic to reaffirm us-versus-them dynamics. This also could be indicative of stochastic terrorism becoming an enduring part of NZ political discourse.”
Stochastic terrorism occurs when inflammatory rhetoric doesn’t specifically direct acts of terror, yet results in them.
Hundreds of people marched on Parliament to protest against moves that could change how puberty blockers are prescribed in gender affirming care. Photo / Samuel Rillstone / RNZ
No evidence has emerged to support claims against Doyle in the two weeks since photographs of the MP with their child started circulating widely.
The Holyhekatuiteka account on the platform X - verified by the Herald as operated by NZ First-aligned finance specialist Rhys Williams - was prominent in sharing the photographs and the allegations.
The photographs were used in combination with claims their nickname “Bussy” - a slang term used in some parts of the queer community - along with references to “cheese” and the use of blue spiral icons to allege Doyle was sexualising their child.
This led to calls for police investigation, for Doyle to quit politics - and the hundreds of death threats.
There is no investigation underway into Doyle.
There is a police investigation into serious threats targeting Doyle. A police spokesperson said: “Police are currently investigating threats and online posts targeting a Member of Parliament. Police investigators are in contact with the MP and are working with parliamentary security as part of this investigation, which is the usual process undertaken for all serious threats to MPs.”
“The threat environment is volatile, ideologically charged... with clear potential for real-world harm.”
Conspiracy mindset imported from US
Kumeroa said the level of threat faced by Doyle was “significantly more serious” than other MPs have encountered, and with a far greater level of “violent or threatening language.”
He also noted people had found and identified online the names of Doyle’s partner and child, home and associates.
He said it was part of an increasing threat environment.
“This is not a one-off. Part of the reason Jacinda Ardern resigned and moved overseas was because of the constant hate and violent threats she was receiving.
“This could play out with other MPs because it is largely driven by a growing identity-fixated conspiratorial mindset.”
Kumeroa said the mindset stemmed from the QAnon-aligned community in the US that took root in New Zealand during the Covid-19 mitigation phase.
Chris Kumeroa, director of GRC Global. Photo / Stuart Munro
He said it had since burgeoned in right-wing groups and conservative political parties.
For example, those with issues over Doyle’s identification as non-binary would link it with claims that the left and globalists were trying to “take over” society with a “rainbow agenda”.
Kumeroa said Parliamentary Service was faced with having to consider if it needed to extend its approach to MP safety to include an “ideological risk profile” which included faith, history, identity, politics and other factors that could increase risk.
“This is not a one-off... This could play out with other MPs.”
It would also need to consider broadening its risk assessment for MPs beyond Parliament to develop a “wider security footprint” that understood MPs’ patterns of life outside politics such as shopping, socialising and attending weekend sport.
When approached for comment, Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, Parliamentary Service chief executive said “Our security team works closely with other agencies to ensure we understand the environment at a national level and have processes in place to ensure our members feel safe. For security reasons, we cannot comment further on the support provided.”
Kumeroa said Trump’s action to remove diversity and inclusion programmes in the United States was a “major external factor” as it “emboldens similar actors domestically”.
He said the “imported QAnon mindset” had now seen politicians in New Zealand deliberately touch on culture war and identity politics conflicts to increase their support, particularly among fringe communities.
Destiny Church groups Man Up and Legacy Sisterhood protest against a children's library drag event at Te Atatū Community Centre. February 15 2025.
Kumeroa said the societal divide was driven by weakened social cohesion since 2020 and the cost of living crisis which saw people seek comfort and validation in groups with which they identified and then attacking those perceived as having different or opposing beliefs and motivations.
He said MPs needed training to understand the “more complex and unpredictable” environment New Zealand had entered. It should include teaching MPs how to make rapid risk assessments, how to develop a better understanding of their surroundings and how to de-escalate conflict.
Kumeroa said minimising online exposure was critical, agreeing “to an extent” with Doyle’s comment it had been naive to not delete social media accounts that existed prior to politics when advised to do so by the party.
“The ideological environment is becoming increasingly conflict-oriented as identity politics and culture war dynamics move from the fringe to the centre of political discourse.
“This raises the risk for all officials who are visible and accessible by the public, as attacking their characters instead of having policy debates will become the most effective political tactic.”
Winston Peters ‘exploded’ issue into mainstream
Hattotuwa’s reports show a wave of allegations and anger that he believes are unprecedented in New Zealand.
His analysis identified “political amplification” by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, in an interview on The Platform, as the reason Doyle’s private social media posts “exploded” from alternative media commentary “into a major national controversy”.
“At its core, the research observes the mobilisation of profound moral outrage, framed primarily around child protection concerns, being weaponised against a political figure, profoundly influenced by key commentators and reflecting deep societal and political schisms.”
Hattotuwa said his research over two weeks showed Doyle remained at “significant risk” of violence that also increased risk to colleagues, family and friends.
He said the possibility for heightened rhetoric to cause violence was shown in Destiny Church’s Brian Tamaki’s call for action against an Auckland Pride event at Te Atatu Library which was followed by the storming of the building.
Hattotuwa said the GRC finding there was no date or time forecasting an attack was “worse than knowing specific details” because of the impact of being at “constant risk”.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters "exploded" discussion about Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle into the mainstream, says researcher. Photo / Mark Mitchell
In summarising the surveillance findings, Hattotuwa said recent reports had shown weakening social cohesion - mutual trust and connectedness in communities - and less trust in society’s institutions, such as government and media.
He said they showed the campaign against Doyle was taking place against a backdrop of “weakening cohesion, significant grievance, and profound institutional distrust”.
It was “fertile ground”, he said, for the type of targeted hostility and potential violence Doyle was facing.
Deep institutional distrust was a crucial element in vigilantism, he said. A perception the authorities would not act heightened the possibility of radicalised justice-seeking and vigilante violence, he said.
Hattotuwa’s mapping of the campaign against Doyle highlighted the use of “dehumanising language” such as “pervert” and “sicko” lowered the required levels of aggression required for violence, supporting GRC Group’s finding that physical violence was a plausible outcome.
Hattotuwa said alternative media platforms played a key role in amplifying the narrative around Doyle.
He said falling trust in mainstream media made people more likely to fall under the sway of alternative media and the “radicalising narratives spread by these networks”, lowering the barrier for a “lone actor” or some other form of stochastic terror action against Doyle.
It was a “plausible and deeply-concerning reality” that a dehumanising campaign “fuelled by moral panic” in a “low-trust, high-grievance, polarised society” could lead to an individual or small group to carry out real-world actions such as harassment, stalking, a “citizen’s arrest” or “outright physical violence”.
“The GRC risk assessment then confirms that these factors have converged in the case of MP Doyle to create a specific, plausible threat of real-world, kinetic harm.”
The online claims against Doyle have already led to real-world activity with the Herald being provided photographs of posters put up in Hamilton public spaces which carry photographs of Doyle and warnings they have sexual interest in children. The posters carry the name “Action Zealandia”, a white nationalist group that has aligned with other far-right groups in New Zealand and overseas.
‘How do I protect my child’ - Doyle
Doyle told the Herald they were managing risk with the support of Parliamentary Security and the Green Party, and their family is the priority.
“My immediate reaction was absolutely the safety of my child. That is the first thing that happened for me, that kicked into gear, was this instinctual desire to ensure at all costs that my child was safe.
“Everything I did in those initial moments and days focused on ‘how do I protect my child’.
“Everything I did in those initial moments and days focused on how do I protect my child.”
“I know I’m a public servant and that people should have access to me and I’m prepared for that scrutiny. I choose to be a very open person about myself.
“But bringing my child into it and my whanau felt like an incredible violation, an ethical and moral violation that goes beyond what I would tolerate.”
Doyle would not rule out legal action but said they would prefer a restorative justice approach.
One of the images taken from the Instagram account of Green MP Benjamin Doyle. The dots immediately below the image show it was one of a number of images from a carousel called 'Bussy galore'.
“I’m mostly interested in ensuring this doesn’t happen again for others and that people are held accountable but more so that they can understand the harm that they are creating.”
Doyle said they would not be deterred from their job, and they were confident of their safety in Parliament - but less so when away from Parliament and at home.
“The way [Parliament has] responded to this particular crisis has instilled a great deal of confidence in me ... and same with the party. I have not felt let down.”
Doyle said the “tsunami wave of risk” would be a factor in their decision to stand again, or not, at the 2026 election - but there would also be many other factors to consider.
Asked how they felt about Winston Peters rejecting a meeting with them, and working in a place with someone who - as Hattotuwa’s research showed - had “exploded” the issue into the mainstream, Doyle said: “This is a hostile work environment for someone like me. There are many people in this place - it’s not a single person - who create that hostility.”
Doyle said rainbow people, non-binary and disabled communities had faced “prejudice and threats of violence for a long time”.
“I am not the first person in our community to receive death threats and to have their personal security undermined.”
David Fisher is based in Northland and has worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, winning multiple journalism awards including being twice named Reporter of the Year and being selected as one of a small number of Wolfson Press Fellows to Wolfson College, Cambridge. He joined the Herald in 2004.
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