Ebony Bell, 28 years old charged with multiple counts of assault and recklessly causing injury for an incident that occurred after the AFL Dreamtime match between Essendon and Richmond at around 10.30pm on May 25.

The alleged assault was reported the next day and Victoria Police arrested Bell in north-east Melbourne on July 25.

He was granted bail and appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court via video link on Monday.

Bell’s lawyer, Emanuele Nicolosi, said that an offer was made by the prosecutor’s office on Friday to resolve the case, but they did not have enough time to review it.

He claimed there were “some factual flaws” in the allegations.

The court was told two of the five charges related to the alleged attack on Senator Thorpe.

Mr Nicolosi cast doubt on whether the alleged injuries described by Senator Thorpe were related to the crimes his client is accused of.

“The alleged victim of the attack did not specify when or where…only made a very oblique reference to an (alleged) assault,” he said.

The allegations first emerged after Senator Thorpe publicly rejected King Charles during his visit to Australia, prompting questions about his standing in the Senate and his attendance rate.

In 2023, Senator Thorpe attended only 38 of the 66 session days (58%) and voted in only 206 of the 558 divisions.

This year, the Senator’s attendance increased slightly; He attended 28 of 44 session days (64%) and voted in 222 of 493 sections.

Responding to a report in The Australian, Senator Thorpe wrote of X that he had “quit work after being seriously assaulted at a public event”.

“I needed spine surgery and now I have a metal plate in my neck,” he said.

In a later statement to SkyNews.com.au, the Senator provided more details about his injury but said he was reluctant to talk openly about the alleged assault.

“I have a scar on the front of my neck from this. The doctor instructed me not to travel and I could not go to parliament. My doctor told me to take time off work,” he told SkyNews.com.au.

“A police investigation is currently ongoing.

“It’s unfortunate that I am forced to reveal this in my defense when I would rather keep it private, but this is just another day in the colony for you.”

Despite Senator Thorpe’s statement, Victoria Police told Skynews.com.au that “the woman suffered minor injuries during the incident”, echoing Mr Nicolosi’s comments about the seriousness of the alleged attack.

SkyNews.com.au is in no way suggesting that Senator Thorpe deliberately exaggerated claims regarding the extent of his injuries.

Mr Nicolosi told the court Bell appeared in court via video link because of “some threats”.

“My client is a Koori woman. The reason it’s visible from afar is because there have been some threats recently,” Mr Nicolosi said, according to The Australian.

Mr. Nicolosi also called for Ms. Thorpe’s name to be removed from the charges, but Judge Belinda Franjic sided with the media due to the Senator’s public identification of himself.

It is alleged that Ms Thorpe and Bell knew each other before the incident.

The case will return to court on 22 November, where he will once again appear via video link.

Ms Thorpe made international headlines last week after she shouted at King Charles in the Great Hall of the Houses of Parliament.

“Give us back what you stole from us: our bones, our skulls, our people. You destroyed our lands. Give us a deal. “We want an agreement in this country.”

He also said: “You are not our King… Give us back our lands.”

“You are not my King. You are not our King… To hell with the colony. To hell with the colony. To hell with the colony.”

Public denials of Her Majesty and some deliberate wordplay during the late Queen’s swearing-in ceremony, in which she swore allegiance to her “hairs” rather than her “heirs”, drew calls for an inquiry into her position in the upper house.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described his outburst towards the King as “disrespectful” and demanded his resignation.

“I think there’s a very strong argument for someone who doesn’t believe in the system but is willing to take a quarter of a million dollars a year from it to resign on principle,” he said on Sunrise last Tuesday.

Speaking to Sky News Australia on Thursday, Chris Merritt of the Australian Rule of Law Institute questioned whether Senator Thorpe’s rejection of the King could warrant the Victorian independent being kicked out of the Senate.

“Did he reject his oath after his outburst in the presence of the king when he said that he was not a king? Does this mean rejecting his oath? These are not trivial issues,” he said.

“The Constitution is very clear about the conditions that must be met for Senators to take their seats, and if those conditions are not met, the Senator cannot validly hold a seat in the Senate.

“So I think the starting point should be a fact-based investigation to find out exactly what happened. Senate offices might be the starting point, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up in the Supreme Court.”

With NewsWire.