A 19-year-old man continues to write notes about terror attack plans against police, transgender people and “Nazi-type documentation” from behind bars after being charged with terrorism offences, a court has been told.
The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of planning multiple terror attacks in Melbourne including a school shooting and an attack on a university.
Australian police were tipped off by the US Federal Bureau of Investigations about the teen’s plans before Victoria Police raided his home in February and allegedly found ammunition, handwritten notes and chemicals for explosive devices.
The teen applied for bail at Melbourne Magistrates Court today but Victoria Police opposed his release, saying he was an “unacceptable risk to the community” because he continues to exhibit extremist behaviour behind bars.
Counter Terrorism Command Detective Senior Constable Andrew Tucker said police searched the 19-year-old’s prison cell this morning.
He alleged Corrections Victoria staff told police they found notes written by the teen about “attacks against police and transgendered people along with anti-Semitic, Nazi-type documentation”.
“There are also reports from (Corrections) regarding his behaviour in custody, which is concerning to police,” he told the court.
“One of those has been reported to police, which is a threat against a prison officer, that has been withdrawn by that prison officer since.”
He said the teen wrote the notes in code and plain English.
The detective also said “physical objects” had been reported to police, but did not disclose what those were.
But Tucker did say there had previously been a delivery of chemicals, which have not been found, and that the teen undertook “his work” at a secret location, which police have also been unable to find.
The teen was also sent women’s clothing in a parcel, and a fake mobile phone, which were intercepted at the prison.
“The way the accused has covered his notes up and possessed violent extremist material … if he is released on bail he will continue to try and obtain chemicals and continue that behaviour,” Tucker said.
The teen’s lawyer claimed he was vulnerable in custody due to his autism diagnosis and young age, noting it was his first time behind bars, and called his father to give evidence.
The father said he and his wife planned to supervise his son 24 hours a day, if their son was released, and if they could not then they would get an NDIS-approved support worker to monitor him.
He said his son would not be allowed to use a smartphone if released, and that the parents or support worker would sit by his side to “more intensely” supervise computer internet usage.
The father said he and his wife had found chemicals in the teen’s bedroom and he had a “long-time habit” of mixing chemicals together and keeping them in a cabinet.
“My wife and I try to clean them up,” he told the court.
The hearing continues this afteroon, when Magistrate Malcolm Thomas could make a decision on his bail.