The attempted bombing of a Perth Invasion Day rally has now been classified as a terrorist attack.
WA Police said the targeted First Nations attack was allegedly “motivated by hateful, racist ideology”.
The 31-year-old man who allegedly threw a homemade bomb into the crowd has now been charged with one count of engaging in a terrorist act.
It is the first time this charge has been laid in WA.
Bomb
On 26 January, an Invasion Day rally was held in the Perth CBD. Police say about 2,500 people were in attendance.
Investigators allege a man removed a “home-made improvised explosive” from his bag and threw it at the crowd, before fleeing the scene. However, the device did not detonate.
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Following the incident, police confirmed the bomb included “a mixture of volatile and potentially explosive chemicals, with nails and metal ball bearings affixed to the exterior”.
Terrorism
Police have now labelled the incident as terrorism.
WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch told media last month: “To be an act of terrorism it requires one of three things: either political motivation, a religious motivation, or some type of ideology and advancing that cause.”
In an update today, Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said “the threshold has been met for a terrorism offence.”
“The people in the crowd that day were peacefully protesting, as is their right as Australians,” WA Premier Roger Cook said.
“I know this event has impacted people Australia-wide, and it is deeply felt by our Indigenous communities. I know that there is anger. We have every right to be angry. Any attack on our First Nations people is an attack on all of us,” he added.
