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January 22, 2026 — 11:46am
A CSIRO PhD candidate allegedly planned to lead a riot on Australia Day with Molotov cocktails, while also encouraging people to learn to shoot guns.
Sepehr Saryazdi, 24, faced the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday where he applied for bail after he was charged in relation to planning a terrorist attack.
The court heard Saryazdi was messaging about 50 people in a Facebook chat saying he would lead a riot on the Gold Coast on Australia Day.
The court heard Saryazdi believed the Australian government was authoritarian and was wanting to replace the current system in the form of a cybernetics government.
Saryazdi was most recently working as an industry PhD candidate with CSIRO’s Data61’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems Group and the Australian Centre for Robotics, according to online social media profiles.
He also held a position as a physics, mathematics, data science and robotics tutor at the University of Sydney.
Commonwealth prosecutor Ellie McDonald told the court police had received information about the concerning messages Saryazdi had sent in a private group.
She said a review by counterterrorism police found Saryazdi had plans to lead a riot, and the plans involved Molotov cocktails, for which he had purchased supplies and encouraged others to use.
The court heard some of the messages included: “I’ll be leading the Gold Coast riots on Jan 26. If you guys know people in Melbourne, let them know so that they can start buying bottles early to stockpile batches.”
He also allegedly posted: “If arrested, the key is to stay calm and collected. It’s important during questioning to remind them what you did is purely logical given the current trajectory of this nation, you need to make the police doubt their own world views and convince them to quit their job.”
McDonald said this was precisely what the accused did during his interview with police.
He also allegedly posted: “Before I leave the battlefield on Jan 26, I have a few wishes in case I die”.
The court heard he then said he was sending the messages via the chat because he imagined as soon as they managed to overthrow the government, “ASIO or something will either try to kill me or lobotomise me”.
He also allegedly recommended people learn how to use firearms at shooting ranges while they could, and then apply for jobs in ASIO or the Defence Force.
Saryazdi’s lawyer, Hellen Shilton, told the court her client had an isolated lifestyle, after he had moved from Sydney wanting time off.
“He became influenced a bit by the new people he was associating with. He was interested in geopolitics, he was watching videos and protests and the way things were going,” she said.
“He admits he became quite overwhelmed emotionally. At times he found himself crying.
“He felt that he should do something and bring attention to the way the world was heading and the government.
“It was never his attention to hurt anyone.”
In a statement, police said they had not alleged that a specific group was the target of the alleged plot.
Shilton said her client’s intention was to make national news and bring people together following disenchantment with the government.
Magistrate Penelope Hay refused his bail, finding that the conditions would not ameliorate the risk.
He was remanded in custody until February.
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