Teen 'inspired by Unabomber, targeted Dutton for bomb'
A teenager accused of preparing a terrorist attack considered schools and then-opposition leader Peter Dutton as targets for pipe bombs filled with nails, a jury has heard.
The teenage boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to acts in preparation for a terrorist attack and is facing trial in Brisbane Supreme Court.
Former opposition leader Peter Dutton was considered as a target by a teenager accused of preparing a terror attack, a jury has heard. Getty Images
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, crown prosecutor Sally Flynn told the jury today.
“Dollar store closed, so I could not get nails,” the boy texted a friend.
“I went near the train tracks and tested the flammability of a (gas canister).”
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?” the teen’s friend texted.
“Members of the Liberal Party,” the teen replied.
When asked why, the teen responded: “I do not want a nuclear power plant an hour from here.”
The teen also wrote in a diary about his plans, the jury heard.
“On June 11, 2024 there is an entry … ‘I thought I should target education systems with bombs instead of the Libs’,” Flynn said.
The teen appeared to have reconsidered a plan to attack Brisbane’s Labour Day march, due to be attended by 20,000 people, as his bomb was not powerful enough, the jury heard.
“I don’t know if I will do the bomb and the Labor Day (sic) march,” the teen texted a friend.
“It would be better if I had nails as shrapnel.”
The teen was inspired by US domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, Flynn said.
The goal of the planned bombing campaign was to bring attention to the argument that humanity was worse off with modern industries and technology, the prosecutor alleged.
The teen allegedly searched for information on the Port Arthur massacre shooter and downloaded a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings that claimed 51 lives.
He also allegedly told his mother he wanted to kill people after she found his stash of knives and chemicals a few days before he was arrested.
The jury is due to hear an opening defence statement today.
The friend who exchanged messages about bombs with the teen is also due to give evidence.
AAP
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