Anthony Albanese choked back tears as he spoke about a teenage terrorism suspect’s manifesto that allegedly included threats toward his family.
Yesterday, 19-year-old Jordan Patten was arrested and charged with a terrorism offence after he went to an MP’s office allegedly armed with knives and tactical gear.
The arrest comes after a manifesto posted online revealed he had planned a series of attacks possibly inspired by the Christchurch mass shooter.
Mr. Albanese spoke about the arrest on Friday morning.
‘There is no place for extremism in Australia. The documentation that has been made is very worrying, and includes threats not only to Labor MPs but to others, to my family,’ she said, fighting back tears.
‘That’s another reason why the families… should be kept out of the media’s reach, frankly, which is worrying, a very direct threat. I applaud the security agencies and the police for the swift action they took.’
Patten was in Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp’s office at around 12.30pm on Wednesday before authorities received a welfare report about his behaviour.
The police went to the office and found the weapons.
Investigators confirmed that the 19-year-old distributed a 200-page manifesto to various media outlets and public figures.
A seven-minute video filmed before the incident showed Patten wearing a bulletproof vest, face mask, gloves and a helmet equipped with a GoPro camera in a public bathroom.
Anthony Albanese (pictured) fought back tears as he spoke about a teenage terrorism suspect’s manifesto that allegedly included threats towards his family.
The footage then shows the teenager armed with knives and tactical gear before allegedly entering the office of a New South Wales state MP and then walking out onto the street again.
Crakanthorp, who did not indicate whether he was in the office at the time of the incident, said no one was injured.
“I have been informed that the individual briefly entered and exited my office and left before making any contact with my staff,” he said.
“I have spoken to the police and they are handling the situation and have assured me that no one was injured.”
Patten appeared at Newcastle Local Court on Thursday after being refused bail, accused of committing an act done in preparation or planning for a terrorist attack.
The matter will return to the same court on August 21.
Patten’s online activities revealed the teenager had previously described his desire to carry out terror attacks in Newcastle and Sydney, inspired by Christchurch shooter Brenton Tarrant, anti-fascist research group the White Rose Society said.
“The miracle of yesterday is that he chickened out and no one was hurt,” the group said in a statement Thursday.
A manifesto posted online showed the teenager held a range of extremist views.
There was no ongoing threat to the public and a Joint Counter Terrorism Team was continuing to investigate the incident, police said.
It came on the same day that First Minister Chris Minns joined Crakanthorp in Newcastle for media events, including the inspection of a soon-to-open walking and cycling track.
They were joined by Counter-Terrorism Minister Yasmin Catley.
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