Parliamentarians deserve to work without being subject to threats
For over a decade, an anonymous figure known only as 'Scorpio' has been sending threatening letters to Australia's parliamentarians and community leaders — more than a hundred in eleven years, each one a small act of menace directed at those who shape public life. Australian Federal Police and NSW Police have now turned to the public, releasing samples of the author's distinctive handwriting in hopes that someone, somewhere, will recognize the hand behind the pen. The case sits at an uncomfortable intersection: it is both a criminal matter and, authorities suggest, a possible cry from someone in psychological distress. What began as correspondence may yet become something more serious, and that possibility is what drives the urgency of the appeal.
- More than a hundred threatening letters have reached politicians, religious leaders, and community figures across Australia since 2015, signed with the alias 'Scorpio' and a chilling smiley face made from bullet casings.
- The sustained campaign has forced high-profile figures to carry out their public duties under a shadow of harassment and fear, eroding the basic conditions of safe civic life.
- Police have released excerpts of the letters — including a highly unusual capitalization pattern and the menacing signature — hoping the public can identify a man they believe to be a Caucasian male in his sixties.
- Two separate investigations are running in parallel: the AFP pursuing letters sent to federal figures, and NSW Police operating under Strike Force Yewrangara for state-level targets.
- Authorities are not only concerned about prosecution — they are worried the author may lack access to mental health support, and that the letters could escalate into physical action.
For more than a decade, someone signing himself 'Scorpio' — and occasionally 'Bullit' — has been sending threatening and harassing letters to politicians, religious leaders, and prominent community figures across Australia. The correspondence began in 2015 and has continued into 2026, accumulating to more than a hundred pieces of mail. The Australian Federal Police and NSW Police are now asking the public to help identify the author.
What makes the appeal unusual is its evidence. Police have released excerpts of the letters, drawing attention to a distinctive handwriting pattern in which certain letters — F, L, T, N, and H — are capitalized where they have no business being. The author's signature is equally striking: a smiley face with what appear to be bullet casings pressed in as eyes, sitting above the name Scorpio. It is a mark of considerable, unsettling care.
Investigators believe the author is likely a Caucasian man in his sixties, but belief is not identification — hence the public appeal. AFP Superintendent Nathan Robertson was direct: the people being targeted deserve to do their work without fear, and the volume and nature of the letters represent a genuine threat to public life.
But the case carries a second, quieter concern. Police have noted that the author may not have access to appropriate mental health support, and they worry that eleven years of letters could give way to something worse. The investigation, then, is not only about holding someone accountable — it is about reaching a person who has spent a decade trying to communicate something, through the only channel he seems to have found, before that channel runs out.
For more than a decade, someone has been sending letters. Not one or two—more than a hundred, arriving at the offices of politicians, religious leaders, and prominent community figures across Australia. The letters are unsigned, but they are signed. The author calls himself Scorpio. Sometimes Bullit. And now, federal and state police are asking the public to help find him.
The correspondence began in 2015 and has continued into 2026. Some letters contain threats. Others constitute harassment. All of them have been collected, seized, and examined for forensic evidence by the Australian Federal Police and New South Wales Police. The AFP is handling letters sent to federal parliamentarians and national community groups. NSW Police, working under Strike Force Yewrangara, are investigating those sent to state figures and local organisations. The sheer volume—more than a hundred pieces of mail over eleven years—suggests a person of considerable determination, or considerable disturbance, or both.
What makes this case unusual is what police have chosen to release. They've published excerpts of the letters, hoping someone will recognize the handwriting. The writing itself is distinctive. The author capitalizes certain letters in an unusual pattern: F, L, T, N, and H appear in capitals where they shouldn't. There's a signature image—a smiley face with what appear to be bullet casings pressed into the paper where eyes should be, sitting above the name Scorpio. It's menacing in its specificity, in the care taken to create it.
Police believe they know something about who is behind the letters. The author is likely a man. He is probably Caucasian. He is probably in his sixties. But belief and knowledge are not the same thing, and that's why the public appeal exists. Someone out there may have seen handwriting like this. Someone may recognize the pattern of capitalization. Someone may know a man in his sixties who has been writing letters for over a decade.
Australian Federal Police Superintendent Nathan Robertson spoke about the investigation on Tuesday. His language was careful but direct. The letters contain content that causes real concern. The people being targeted—parliamentarians, community leaders, religious figures—deserve to do their work without being harassed or threatened. This is not abstract. This is about whether people in public life can function without fear. Robertson also said something else, something that shifted the frame slightly. Police are worried not just about what the letters say, but about the person writing them. They wonder whether he has access to appropriate mental health support. They are concerned about escalation—the possibility that letters might give way to something worse.
This is the tension at the heart of the case. The letters are a crime. They are also a symptom. Someone has been trying to communicate something to powerful people for eleven years, and the only tool he has found is the mail. Whether that communication is a threat, a warning, a cry for help, or something else entirely remains unclear. What is clear is that it has not stopped, and that police believe it could get worse. The public is being asked to help prevent that escalation by identifying a man whose only known signature is a bullet-eyed smiley face and a distinctive way of holding a pen.
Citações Notáveis
We have very real concerns about the content of these letters, and people in public life deserve to go about their jobs or careers without being subject to harassment or threats.— AFP Superintendent Nathan Robertson
Our investigations are into allegations of criminal behaviour, but we also have concerns about whether the person responsible for them has access to appropriate health and support services.— AFP Superintendent Nathan Robertson
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why release the handwriting samples now, after eleven years of letters?
Because they've hit a wall. They know roughly who they're looking for—a man in his sixties—but that's not enough. The handwriting is distinctive enough that someone who knows him might recognize it. Someone who's seen his mail, his notes, his writing over years.
The bullet casings in the smiley face—is that a direct threat?
That's the question police are wrestling with. It's menacing, certainly. It suggests violence. But is it a threat to commit violence, or is it a symbol of something else? That ambiguity is part of why they're concerned about his mental state.
Eleven years is a long time to send letters without being caught. What does that tell us?
Either he's careful, or he's invisible, or both. He's not using a return address. He's not signing his real name. He's just... persistent. That kind of sustained behavior over a decade suggests obsession, not impulse.
Why are police worried about escalation?
Because letters are one thing. But if someone has been fixated on public figures for eleven years, and that fixation hasn't been resolved, where does it go next? Do the letters stop mattering? Does he decide they're not working?
What would identifying him actually solve?
It would let them intervene. Get him help if he needs it. Stop the letters. Understand what he's been trying to say. Right now he's a ghost with a pen. Once he's a person, they can actually do something.