THE FACTS ARE COMING OUT, AND THE ARMCHAIR DETECTIVES HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO. The man arrested following the horrific attack on independent MP Helen Haines has been identified as Brendan Nugent, 43, from Tarrawingee, Victoria. And guess what? The neat little political narrative that people were so desperate to push is falling apart. Within hours of the attack, social media was flooded with people confidently declaring the attacker must be a One Nation supporter, a Muslim extremist, a radical leftist, a pro-Hamas activist or some other convenient political enemy. There was just one tiny problem. Nobody had established who he was or why it happened. Now we have some actual information. According to ABC News Verify, Nugent has a history of environmental activism, criticism of both major political parties, support for Gaza and sharing conspiracy-related material. He has expressed anti-establishment sentiments, but his political views don't fit neatly into one party's ideology. There is no verified evidence establishing him as a One Nation supporter or an Islamist extremist. In fact, he previously expressed support for Helen Haines herself, praising her approach to climate change. And police have STILL not publicly established a motive. So where does that leave everyone who immediately blamed Pauline Hanson, Muslims, the Greens, Labor or whichever group they happen to despise? Looking rather foolish. Here's something apparently revolutionary in Australian political discourse: WAIT FOR THE BLOODY EVIDENCE. Someone's environmental activism doesn't make environmentalists responsible. Supporting Palestinians doesn't make someone a terrorist. Criticising the government doesn't automatically make someone a right-wing extremist. And sharing conspiracy theories doesn't establish membership of any particular political movement. Political violence is not a team sport. A woman has suffered catastrophic injuries. Her life has been permanently changed. Yet some people seem more interested in scoring political points than finding out what actually happened. If you're condemning collective blame when your side is accused but enthusiastically participating when it's the other side, you're not standing up for facts. You're practising tribal hypocrisy. The accused deserves due process. Helen Haines deserves justice. Australians deserve facts rather than politically convenient fiction. And anyone who spread unsupported allegations about the attacker's identity or motives should have the decency to correct themselves. Facts over outrage. Every bloody time. #FactsOverOutrage #HelenHaines #PoliticalViolence