Western Australian authorities have confirmed the targeting of an Invasion Day rally in central Perth is now being treated as a terrorist event, in a first for the state.
WA Prime Minister Roger Cook announced the 31-year-old man on Thursday who was charged in the incident on January 26 will now be charged with involvement in a terrorist act.
He said it was the first time anyone in Western Australia had been charged with the crime.
“I know there is fear within the community, particularly among Aboriginal West Australians,” Cook told reporters.
“I know this event has affected people across Australia, and it is deeply felt by our Indigenous communities. I know there is anger. We have every right to be angry.
“Any attack on our First Nations people is an attack on all of us.”
The man was previously charged with making or possessing an explosive device and committing an act with intent to cause damage.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) allege the man took a homemade improvised explosive device from his bag and threw it at a rally in support of First Nations people in Perth’s CBD on January 26, where a crowd of 2,500 marched.
The device did not explode. Specialist officers from the WA Police Bomb Response Unit and forensic teams had confirmed the device was a “frag bomb”, using volatile chemicals designed to explode on impact.
CCTV footage released by WA Police shows a man throwing the glass object into Forrest Place, narrowly missing those present, before running away.
WA police claim the man was “self-radicalised”, acted alone and had access to “pro-white male” material online.
“And as we all know, it is unfortunately in abundance,” WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said.
‘That ideology prevails in his access to the internet.
“I think we’re all fooling ourselves if we don’t see what’s happening online and don’t see the hate speech that’s going on against Aboriginal people and any vulnerable community in this country.”
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the threshold for a terrorism offense under the Criminal Code is met – including that the action is taken with the intention of furthering a political, religious or ideological cause, and that the action is carried out with the intention of coercing or influencing a government through intimidation or intimidation of the public.
She said First Nations Australians had the right to peacefully protest without the threat of violence.
“The AFP and our security and law enforcement partners will use all our powers, capabilities and resources to ensure that hatred and violence are not used as weapons to silence communities,” Barrett said.
“There are individuals and current and emerging groups across Australia, including in the West, who are eroding the country’s social fabric by advocating hatred, fear and humiliation that mobilize towards violence, and I am here to shine a light on these groups and individuals.”
Blanch urged the public to alert authorities if they see suspicious behavior, saying intelligence services had no prior knowledge of the preparation of the alleged attack.
“I hope from now on our phones are red hot about what they see and hear,” he said.
“So if you’re thinking about doing that, we’re coming, and we’re coming fast.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the alleged attack targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
“This was alleged terrorism, driven by racism and hatred. Hate that should have been relegated to the dark corners of history, but which still lives in the dark corners of the internet,” he told parliament.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said Australians should be “alert”.
“We need to take care of each other. We need to be kinder to each other, and we need to be alert to those in our society who choose to do the opposite,” McCarthy said.
Opposition leader Sussan Ley also condemned the alleged attack.
“We can never accept a situation where we turn to violence to settle our political differences,” she said.
The man is expected to appear in the Perth Magistrates Court on February 17 where the Commonwealth terrorism charge will be heard.
For the latest news from SBS News, download our app And subscribe to our newsletter.
#Alleged #attacker #Invasion #Day #rally #radicalized #police #declaring #act #terror