Satirist Matthew Bonanno Cleared Of Gordon Manche Online Threats
Maltese satirist and journalist Matthew Bonanno has been cleared by the courts after being accused of making online threats toward River of Love pastor Gordon Manche.
The case centred around a Facebook exchange from January 2022, where Bonanno suggested that the controversial evangelical group be relocated to Buġibba and “carpet bombed”. The comment came in response to another user joking about the cost of an aerial campaign on Żebbuġ, where the group was based.
In court, Magistrate Kevan Azzopardi ruled that the remarks were not credible threats, and instead fell under satirical, hyperbolic and artistic expression. The magistrate also noted that Bonanno had neither the means nor intent to carry out any form of actual violence. The court added that the comments were directed at River of Love as a group, and not specifically at its leader Manche, drawing a comparison to criticism of the Church not necessarily being directed at the archbishop.
Bonanno, who is the founder of satire site Bis-Serjetà and now a journalist with Times of Malta, welcomed the ruling, stating:
“I’m glad common sense prevailed and the courts saw my comment as the obvious joke it was.”
The charges stemmed from a police report Manche filed shortly after the murder of Paulina Dembska. The accused in that case had previously attended River of Love meetings, prompting wider public scrutiny of the group. Manche denied any links to the crime and also took legal action against Times of Malta over news reports on the matter.
Police later charged both Bonanno and another user, Matthew Bugeja, with misuse of electronic equipment and making online threats. However, the court dismissed the first charge due to lack of evidence and found the second did not meet the threshold of a credible or realistic threat.
Lawyers Dean Hili and Andrew Sciberras represented Bonanno, while Stephen Tonna Lowell appeared for Bugeja.
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