SYDNEY: An Australian man has been charged and detained after allegedly posting a message on social media backing the mass shooting on Bondi Beach.
A court in Western Australia heard that police found six licensed firearms, 4,000 rounds of unsecured ammunition, and antisemitic material in his home, local media said.
Detectives raided the suspect’s home on Tuesday (Dec 23), Western Australia Police said in a statement.
He was charged with intent to racially harass, carrying or possessing a prohibited weapon, and failing to properly store a firearm or related material.
The suspect, named in local media as 39-year-old Perth man Martin Thomas Glynn, appeared in Fremantle Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
In a social media post, he allegedly expressed “100 per cent support” for the Dec 14 mass shooting at a Jewish festival on Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people, media reports said.
Glynn reportedly told the court he did not intend to harm anyone and was trying to contrast the Bondi attack with the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza.
He was remanded in custody until his next court hearing in February, local media said.
Western Australia Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the man was not believed to be part of a network.
“We think this is an individual who has made these comments online, and we are still yet to assess the threat of that individual,” he told reporters.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had been briefed on the arrest.
“There is no place in Australia for antisemitism, hate and violent ideologies,” he said in a statement.
“I thank the work of the WA Police in quickly identifying this individual and acting immediately.”