Man charged over Australian army Facebook ‘gay hate’ page

A former member of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been charged in connection with a Facebook page which allegedly outed gay soldiers.

The 32-year-old man from Kareela was arrested in Sydney this morning and charged with a number of offences, including creating the Facebook page and making threats against an Army major.

Police launched an investigation in March after the major reported the email threats against him. They then discovered the anti-gay Facebook group.

Titled ‘It is your right to know who is biting the pillow’, the group called homosexuality a “filthy lifestyle” and urged Facebook users to name “bum bandits”.

The man is to face charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and using a carriage service to threaten, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. He is on bail and will appear in court on June 3rd.

The ADF has allowed openly gay and lesbian soldiers since 1992.