SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man was charged with a terrorism offense on Thursday after walking into a politician’s electorate office with plans to kill him, authorities and local media said.
The 19-year-old man entered the office of the New South Wales state parliamentarian Tim Crakanthorp in Newcastle, about 170km north of Sydney, on Wednesday before being arrested at a nearby museum with weapons and tactical gear, the Australian Broadcasting Corp and the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
He was held overnight and charged Thursday with “acts committed in preparation for or planning an act of terrorism,” according to a police statement.
At a hearing where the man appeared via videolink, Acting Magistrate Anthony Spence told the court the man was accused of visiting Mr Crakanthorp’s office “with the intention of killing him because of his status as a member of parliament. [and] in preparation for planning a terrorist attack,” the ABC reported.
A court representative identified the suspect as Jordan Patten, adding that Patten had not applied for bail and was formally denied bail. Patten was not yet required to enter a plea.
According to the police statement, the suspect had distributed a document to public figures and media, without providing further details. The ABC and Herald reported that Patten had shared a 200-page manifesto detailing multiple grievances, including anti-immigration and anti-diversity positions.
Crakanthorp said in a statement that he and his staff were unharmed in what he called a very serious incident.
Patten is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 21, court officials said.
In Sydney, one of the safest cities in the world, gun and knife violence is rare. However, a number of stabbings have taken place in recent months.
In April, six people were killed in a mass stabbing attack at a Sydney shopping mall, with police shooting the attacker dead.
A few days later, a teenager allegedly stabbed an Assyrian Christian bishop while on duty in Sydney. The teenager and five others have been charged with terrorism-related crimes.
(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Michael Perry)
