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A teenage boy allegedly plotted online with like-minded neo-Nazis to live stream a chemical attack, believing he was preparing Australia for a “nationalist and racial violence extremist” revolution.
Investigators are now considering laying a terror charge, as court documents reveal how isolated young men are being radicalised on the internet.
A Canberra teenager planned to livestream an attack on a leftist march and was discussing plans for a chemical gas attack online.Credit: Artwork: SMH
The 17-year-old’s arrest comes amid increased scrutiny on the neo-Nazi movement in Australia, after a group of 60 black-clad men, calling itself White Australia and formerly the National Socialist Network, held a rally outside NSW Parliament on Saturday.
The Australian Federal Police’s counter terror squads, including ASIO, last week raided a home in the Canberra suburb of Downer. They were moving to disrupt what they now believe was a credible threat of terrorism posed by the teenager.
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The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was allegedly in the preparatory phase of an attack and gathering intelligence and equipment needed to harm other Australians.
Military clothing, an imitation gun, extremist writings and a gas mask were all seized.
A police document, read out in court at his bail hearing and seen by the Herald, alleged the boy had spoken with associates in encrypted channels about his plans.
“The young person had detailed plans on attacking a homeless person with chlorine gas due to his race and information obtained suggests he has taken steps to conduct tests related to the use of chlorine gas,” the document reads.
The boy’s associates, who were both in Australia and abroad, seemed to encourage the alleged plot. One advised the teenager to buy a GoPro camera.
“Livestream it privately, so they can’t take it down,” the associate said.
“I’m planning to do it at a Commie (communist) meeting or march,” the boy had said.
Police say the boy had watched videos of Australian Brenton Tarrant’s massacre in Christchurch, images of Nazi flags and Ku Klux Klan members. Tarrant flirted with the white nationalist movement and far right-extremism online, and even communicated with prominent neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell.
The attack did not have a specific plan or target, the document suggests, but the boy was engaged in “combat training” and was gathering equipment for the gas and to make explosives.
The discussions had taken place in recent weeks, the AFP allege.
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One line in the police document provides an insight into the boy’s mind.
“Personally moving toward planning an attack has helped me. I used to be depressed, but now I have purpose,” he wrote to a contact.
The boy told police he disliked non-Celtic and non-Germanic people and allegedly said, “you should fight for your race”.
The boy’s arrest went unnoticed in the encrypted neo-Nazi channels which are dedicated to enlisting disaffected young men to their cause.
Neo-Nazi leader Jacob Hersant, on the day of the boy’s arrest, instead posted a video denouncing “gradualism” and called for political revolution before white people become minorities in the west.
“If our race goes under, then so too will our civilisation – then there will be nothing left to fight for,” Hersant said, reading off a script.
“White revolution is the only solution.”
Two days later, Hersant posted another daily video saying his movement was a “beacon of hope in a sea of right-wing despair”.
Neo-Nazi encrypted social media channels have been posting videos emphasising themes of brotherhood and social connection – including shirtless hikes in the Riverina, a catered dinner in Adelaide and workout sessions in Queensland.
Neo-Nazis outside NSW parliament on Saturday.
In March, a group met up in a park for boxing drills before posing for photographs.
“If you are a man of European descent in the Canberra region, get involved! Tribe and train!” they shared.
The same encrypted Nazi channels have reposted political and media reaction to Saturday’s rally in Sydney where the group unfurled a banner calling to “Abolish the Jewish Lobby” and chanted “blood and honour” – a slogan of the Hitler Youth.
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