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Rex Martinich
A teen accused of plotting nail bomb attacks against then-opposition leader Peter Dutton and a Labour Day march has been found not guilty of preparing a terrorist act.
The jury returned its verdict on Thursday after two days of deliberation.
The teen, now aged 17 and who cannot be identified for legal reasons, stood trial in Brisbane Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to one count of carrying out acts in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.
The family of the teen gasped and cried when the verdict was read out.
The boy was about to turn 16 when he rode his scooter around Brisbane’s suburbs in July 2024 to buy nails, metal pipes and ingredients for explosives, the jury heard.
They were shown dozens of text messages, online posts and handwritten diary entries that detailed the teen’s fixation on infamous terrorists including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the Christchurch mosque shooter.
The goal of the planned bombing campaign was to bring attention to the argument that humanity was worse off with modern industries and technology, Crown Prosecutor Sally Flynn said.
The teen used his iPhone and laptop to search for “where is Peter Dutton located” as part of an alleged plan to use bombings to oppose the Liberal Party’s then-policy of building multiple nuclear power stations in Australia.
“Who are you trying to kill?” a friend of the teen texted.
“Members of the Liberal Party,” the teen replied.
The teen was also obsessed with a fictional group of Wild West outlaws as depicted in the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, the jury heard.
He texted a friend about the fictional terrorist attack at the end of the film Fight Club, in which a series of buildings are blown up.
“I think I’ve gained an autistic interest in bombs but it’s going to be tough to shake it off,” the teen wrote in his diary.
He engaged in “clearly dangerous experimentation” with household chemicals, defence barrister Laura Reece told the jury on Monday during her closing statement.
But the central issue at trial was the teen’s state of mind or intention at the time of the acts, she added.
“He was a troubled kid. He was experimenting not only with explosives but with ideas and beliefs,” Reece said.
“He was seeking out extremist material from wildly contradictory sources from the dark corners of the internet.”
The teen had written in his diary about serious mental health symptoms and was affected by his parents’ separation, Reece added.
She argued he was telling an “edgy joke” when he texted his friend about bombing Brisbane’s Labour Day parade, which usually attracts 20,000 people.
AAP
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