A man accused of deliberately ramming a Jewish synagogue was “nonsensical” during a police interview, a court has been told.
A court has demanded a psychiatric evaluation of a man accused of ramming a Jewish synagogue in an act of hate after he claimed his behaviour could be blamed on drugs.
Sunnybank man Matthew Alexander Donald De Campo, accused of deliberately targeting a Jewish synagogue, applied for bail on Friday before Brisbane Supreme Court.
He is accused of ramming the Brisbane Synagogue on Margaret St in the early evening of February 20, 2026.
CCTV footage, presented to the court at his bail application, showed a Toyota HiLux, allegedly driven by Mr De Campo, reversing at the synagogue gates, narrowly avoiding a person standing behind the gate.
The alleged offence was deemed an act of hate following an interview between police and Mr De Campo shortly after the alleged attack.
His barrister, Gregory McGuire KC, told the court that Mr De Campo made “nonsensical” statements in the interview with police, adding that his client struggled with serious drug-related mental health issues.
Mr McGuire claimed previous interactions with police showed that at one point, police also believed Mr De Campo’s issues were drug related.
Referring to a transcript of police body-worn audio, Mr McGuire pointed to comments made by officers during conversations with Mr De Campo in the months before the alleged attack.
“(Audio transcripts show) one police officer saying to another police officer, ‘He is a regular isn’t he?’
“He has just fried himself on something,” another officer said.
On one occasion, Mr De Campo was asked by police if he was using drugs, to which he replied he had used “a little bit” of marijuana.
He told police that he wanted Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, to which one officer replied: “You’re out of your mind bro.”
“You don’t make much sense – we’re going to have to take you to the hospital,” an officer told Mr De Campo, according to the audio transcripts.
“He’s obviously cray, cray, he’s probably on drugs,” an officer told their colleague, who replied: “I don’t think it’s so much mental health – might be drugs.”
Mr McGuire said Mr De Campo had no history of violence and a long, documented history before the courts of drug misuse.
He argued that Mr De Campo had, for the first time, realised he needed help and would be entering a rehabilitation facility to address his drug use if granted bail.
“There are reasons to believe his behaviour is drug related,” Mr McGuire said.
Crown prosecutor Julie Aylward said there was no assurity that Mr De Campo’s mental issues were limited to his drug use.
“Even if it is drug related … it has persisted for a long period of time and may require psychiatric treatment,” she said.
Ms Aylward said there was evidence spanning at least 3½ months of “delusional” and “paranoid” behaviours directed towards religious organisations, not limited to the Jewish faith.
She said Mr De Campo’s behaviour was “unpredictable” and had occurred in a climate of anti-Semitic attacks.
“He himself references Bondi,” she said.
“The difficulty here is, of course, there is no discernible reason for this offending beyond some sort of delusion.”
She advised the court that Mr De Campo had a history of weapons offending and had been found with weapons in the past.
Upon hearing Justice Soraya Ryan’s concerns for release on bail, Mr McGuire requested the court adjourn the matter to allow time for a psychiatric evaluation of whether Mr De Campo’s mental health issues were limited to his drug use.
“(I am concerned to grant bail) in the absence of psych opinion that this is drug related and keeping him clean will reduce the risk,” Justice Ryan said.
The Sunnybank man is charged with wilful damage serious vilification or a hate crime, dangerous operation of a vehicle, possessing utensils or pipes for use, and possessing dangerous drugs.