Police declare alleged attempted bombing at Forrest Place Invasion Day rally an act of terror

Police allege the man accused of throwing a homemade explosive device into a Forrest Place Invasion Day rally on January 26 in an act of terror accessed “pro-white material” online.

Authorities allege the incident saw a 31-year-old man allegedly hurl a device filled with a combination of liquids designed to detonate on impact, wrapped in ball bearings and screws, into a crowd of 2500 demonstrators.

The device failed to detonate.

On Thursday, WA’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team said investigations have shown the incident was ideologically driven and Premier Roger Cook said there were allegations of a “hateful, racist ideology”.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said it would be alleged the man was self-radicalised and involved online access to “pro-white male, pro-white material”.

“I’m mindful the matter’s before the court, but to reach that threshold of having racist nationalist ideologies, it was self radicalised, acting alone, access to white, pro white male, pro white material online,” he said.

“As we all know, sadly it’s in abundance and this is why my message around all of us in our community, in particular, the leaders of our community, must absolutely do everything we can in our power to help people in that situation in the first instance, but to call it out when we see it.”

The 31-year-old has now been charged with engaging in a terrorist act, and faces up to life in prison if found guilty.

The new charge adds to the man’s previous charges of intent to harm and making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.

The man remains remanded in custody and is due to return to court on February 17.

The charge is a first for the State, and is the most serious terror related charge according to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett.

“What he has been charged with is committing a terrorist act, that is the most serious terrorist charge that is available to the JCTT,” she said.

“There are other charges ... in relation to acts of preparation and planning, we’re alleging he was beyond that, he actually committed a terrorist act, and it’s life imprisonment, it’s an extremely serious charge,” she said.

Mr Blanch also underlined how lucky demonstrators were to not have the device explode.

“Whatever (higher beings) anyone believes in happened on that day, it (the explosive) should have gone off,” he said.

“It had a fuse that was allegedly lit, whether it fell out or failed.

“Whatever was looking over the people in that rally that day stopped it from going off and we should all be thankful that we don’t have deceased or seriously injured people.”

Since the attack, organisers of the rally and other groups have criticised the time taken to allege it was a terror act.

Mr Blanch acknowledged the process, but said it was important to follow the rules.

“All of us in this room, all of us in our community, would have seen a bomb being thrown into a crowd on Australia Day at an invasion Day Rally as an act of terror,” he said.

“But to charge someone with a terrorism offence, we need to prove the motivation and the ideology of that person.

“As a police organisation...we have rules we must follow and processes we must follow.

“Speaking to the Noongar elders, they want justice served here so my job is to make sure we do that.”

Mr Cook pledged the State Government would “do everything we can” to prevent further attacks but couldn’t promise it wouldn’t happen again.

“We can’t guarantee that these acts of violence won’t take place elsewhere,” he said.

“We can do everything we can to address this particular act and continue to recommit ourselves to making sure Western Australia stays safe and peaceful,” he said.

Following the designation, Mr Cook met with organisers of the Invasion Day rally for the first time since the incident, a meeting which was productive according to organiser Fabian Yarran.

He said he was relieved to see the call finally made, and was given assurances by the Premier for further collaboration with the community.

“It was productive by the Premier he’s giving us assurance now that he’s gonna work with us Aboriginal people and move forward,” he said.

“He tells us he’s gonna work with us and we’ve got to work with him and one of many conversations and discussions about this incident now and future things are gonna come,” he said.

Mr Yarran said the community was hurting.

“Some people feel unsafe in the house, unsafe in the community and they want this racism, discrimination and hatred to stop so everyone can live their lives and be productive in society,” he said.

“They want to feel safe in the community and want to feel that there’s no people out there trying to harm them or hurt them, they just want these things to stop.”

Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy spoke of the hurt the community was feeling following the alleged attack.

“We all want to be safe, we all want to know that we can protest in an environment where we don’t have to be looking over our shoulder or looking around to see if someone’s going to hurt us or violently attack us,” she said.

“There’s a fair bit of work to take place in coming months in terms of that kind of healing, in terms of the social cohesion that we require, not just in Western Australia, but right across Australia.”

The new charge also sparked reaction in Canberra, with Anthony Albanese condemning the alleged actions.

“This was terrorism driven by racism and hatred — hate that should have been banished to the dark reaches of history yet still lives in the dark corners of the internet,” the PM told the House of Representatives on Thursday.

“This alleged event has provoked anxiety, shock and concern in our indigenous communities, as it has our nation.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, Perth MP Patrick Gorman and Ms McCarthy issued a joint statement acknowledging the response.

“Within 40 minutes, the WA JCTT was engaged, which includes the Western Australian Police Force, Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation,” they said.

“This meant the right people, with the right experience, were engaged from the very start of the investigation.

“First Nations people, like all Australians, have the right to gather peacefully without fearing for their safety.”

Perth Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds condemned the alleged attempted bombing “in the strongest possible terms” and said the City would work with police to allow lawful gatherings safely.

“This was an unacceptable act intended to incite fear and cause harm,” he said.

“While it is incredibly fortunate that no one was physically injured, that does not mean no one was harmed. Acts like this have a profound impact on people’s sense of safety and wellbeing.”