A man has been charged in relation to a crowbar attack on Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ home in Auckland.

The incident saw one of Peters’ windows smashed while his partner Jan Trotman was at home, also leaving shards of shattered glass over his dog.

This morning, Auckland city district commander superintendent Sunny Patel confirmed that at about 8pm yesterday, a man believed to be responsible for the damage handed himself into police.

A 29-year-old man will appear in Auckland District Court on October 10 charged with burglary.

“I know these ongoing occurrences have caused angst and frustration amongst residents,” Patel said.

“Police recognise the right to lawful protest, however we will not condone protest action where property is damaged.

“Police continue to urge protestors to remain within the bounds of the law, especially in residential areas.”

Peters blasted whoever may have smashed the window on social media yesterday evening, saying the act was perpetrated by a “disgusting coward”.

It follows the gathering of protestors outside his home over the weekend in support of those on board the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Peters said on Herald NOW this morning he has “no doubts” that Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick’s rhetoric around the Government’s response to the war in Gaza is inciting acts of violence like what had occurred at his home.

Peters claims Swarbrick knew the perpetrator: “who was shouting out outside our home in the middle of the dark night, breaking all the noise abatement laws, waking up all the young kids in the street, and all the neighbours – poor things.”

“[Swarbrick] was at her press conference yesterday, as stupid and incoherent as she was when she tried to explain herself.”

“There she was… the new superstar of performative politics.”

But this morning, Chlöe Swarbrick said she did not know who attacked Peter’s home and that she “explicitly condemned this violence”.

“This crosses a threshold and goes well beyond people’s right to protest,” she said.

Herald NOW’s Ryan Bridge fired questions to Swarbrick about her relationship with the woman who shared Peter’s address at the press conference yesterday.

Swarbrick denied being close with her and denied facilitating violence at the press conference.

“I know a number of people who are involved in a number of protests. I had not been aware of that behaviour at that point in time when it came to, as you are now putting to me, sending out the address or otherwise,” Swarbrick said.

In response to claims she had incited the violence with terms like “from the river to the sea”, she said she only supported peaceful protest.

“So if we want to talk about the behaviour that we should here be supporting, and the behaviour here that we should be condemning and we are asking for this government at a really basic level to condemn the genocide and to sanction Israel for its war crimes,” Swarbrick said.

Peters revealed yesterday on X that his home had been vandalised in a “violent, hate-filled” incident.

“A disgusting coward has gone to my home and smashed a window,” he said in his social media post.

“Glass was shattered all over our dog. He also left a sign on the front door.

“I wasn’t home. But my partner and a guest were. This is truly gutless.”

The Herald understands the attack was carried out with a crowbar.

Peters said it was the “type of violent hate-filled behaviour we warned about in the past few days about the radical left”, although at this stage it’s unclear who is responsible.

“When we have protesters, political bloggers and MPs alike encouraging this behaviour, posting politicians’ home addresses online, and acting with pure ignorance and extremism, this is the result.”

Peters said New Zealanders should be “deeply concerned” about where the country was going.

Police last night told the Herald they were called about 5.40pm to St Mary’s Bay after a report of wilful damage.

“The offender had left the scene, and was not immediately able to be located. Inquiries are ongoing,” a spokesperson said.

The attack has been condemned by Labour leader Chris Hipkins, who called it “totally unacceptable”.

“MPs’ homes are not the place to protest. No matter the cause, political violence is never ok and should be condemned,” he posted to X.

“Free speech is healthy in a democracy, political violence is not.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also weighed in, calling it a “disgrace”.

“I condemn in the strongest possible terms the vandalism this evening at the home of Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters,” he wrote.

“Nothing justifies someone in public life having their home targeted and their family intimidated.”

Last week, in response to protests outside his home, Peters said New Zealand had one of the most tolerant democracies in the world, and people had every right to express their views.

“But with that comes the responsibility to be a decent person and respect the places and times when you can exercise those rights,” he said on X.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.