Australian PM reveals threat from alleged teen terrorist
Canberra: Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has revealed he and his family were threatened by an accused teenage terrorist.
Albanese said on Friday that he and his family were among those threatened in an extremist manifesto in which 19-year-old Jordan Patten allegedly outlined his intention to kill Members of Parliament from the governing Labour Party, Xinhua news agency reported.
“There is no place for extremism in Australia. That documentation that was made is very concerning, including threats not just to Labor MPs but to others, to my family,” he told reporters in Canberra.
Patten was on Wednesday arrested by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) in the city of Newcastle — nearly 100 km north of Sydney — after allegedly entering the office of Tim Crakanthorp, a Labour MP in the New South Wales state parliament, armed with knives and tactical equipment.
He has been charged with one count of preparing for, or planning, a terrorist act.
Authorities said that following Patten’s arrest, they became aware of the manifesto that expresses anti-immigration, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic views and a list of grievances against the Labour Party and Albanese.
“It’s another reason why families should be off-limits from the media. It’s something that is of concern. I applaud the security agencies and police for the swift action they undertook,” Albanese said.
Under Australian law anyone found guilty of preparing for, or planning, a terrorist act can be sentenced to imprisonment for life.