The situation around Lidia Thorpe's headband photo has intensified, with the matter now referred to the police and a previously deleted tweet reappearing.

The contentious independent senator from Victoria shared a photo on X on Tuesday, wearing a headband that has sparked controversy. The headband, which read "I love chocolate milk" in Arabic script, was linked to the terrorist group Hamas, prompting Thorpe to delete the post within hours.

She claimed to media that she was unaware of the headband’s connection to Hamas.

In the photo, Thorpe, a vocal anti-Israel campaigner, is seen smiling with a mug and the contentious green headband. The post’s caption included chocolate bar emojis and read: "I wholeheartedly support this message. I hope you do too!"

Sick of Hamas supporters? Get your own headband to declare your stance against terrorism with our straight to the point F*ck Hamas headband.

Activist Drew Pavlou criticised the post, stating:

"This is a dog whistle; the headband is a piss take about chocolate milk but it’s designed to look exactly like the green headbands worn by Hamas fighters."

My Twitter is so powerful. Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe is now under Australian Federal Police investigation because she tagged me on Twitter and gloated about how she had successfully “baited” me with her pro-Hamas headband post.

It’s illegal to display a prohibited… pic.twitter.com/hBWC0tdKZZ

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) July 18, 2024

Thorpe's account responded to Pavlou’s criticism with two tweets before blocking him. One tweet featured chocolate bar emojis, while another, which has since been deleted, taunted, "Or baiting predictable reactionaries like you?"

Thorpe now claims a staffer wrote the inflammatory response to Pavlou, contradicting her initial explanation of the photo as an innocent mistake.

The Australian Federal Police have confirmed receiving a 'report of crime' concerning the photo, though there is no suggestion Thorpe committed a crime.

Thorpe reiterated her apology, claiming:

"I was not aware of the resemblance between this headband, which says ‘I love chocolate milk’, and items worn by Hamas members. When I became aware of this, I immediately chose to delete the post and have apologised to anyone who was upset."

Thorpe claimed she was gifted the headband and did not realise its resemblance to Hamas garments.