Bruce Lehrmann arrives at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court, June 17 (Image: AAP/Jono Searle)
Bruce Lehrmann arrives at the Toowoomba Magistrates Court, June 17 (Image: AAP/Jono Searle)

Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann will face trial on two counts of rape after the Toowoomba Magistrates Court found there was sufficient evidence to take the case to trial.

The Toowoomba charges were an archetypal social media-era story, with months elapsing between Lehrmann being charged and the media being able to name him, beyond noting that a “high-profile man” was facing rape charges in Queensland.

Similarly to the case of George Pell four years earlier (though it did not lead to the same dramatic clash between media and judiciary) his identity was widely known among journalists, political and legal figures, and a big chunk of politics-pilled Twitter users, where Lehrmann was frequently named, defying a non-publication order.