Australian man charged after endorsing Bondi attack had weapons stockpile, police say

Australian man charged after endorsing Bondi attack had weapons stockpile, police say

Police located several guns, a stockpile of ammunition and a shopping list for bomb materials in the home of a West Australian man arrested after pledging support for the Bondi attackers, a court has heard.

Martin Glynn, 39, appeared in a Perth court on Wednesday charged with racial harassment, possessing a prohibited weapon and failing to store firearms correctly.

Prosecutors allege flags of Hamas and Hezbollah, both declared terrorist groups by Australia, were located during a police raid sparked by a tip-off from the public.

In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said “there is no place in Australia for antisemitism, hate and violent ideologies”.

The court was told that Mr Glynn posted on Instagram just hours after two gunmen killed 15 people in a targeted attack on a Hannukah event at Bondi Beach on 14 December to endorse their actions.

“A community member saw a post from the man online, recognised it wasn’t right, and reported it to police,” Acting WA Premier Rita Saffioti told reporters on Christmas Eve.

Police subsequently searched Mr Glynn’s home in Yangebup, a suburb of Perth, allegedly finding a notebook including antisemitic comments and references to Nazi ideology.

Three flags, six rifles and around 400 rounds of ammunition were also seized, prosecutors say.

In court, Mr Glynn – who represented himself – said he had been “opinionated” about the war in Gaza, but was “hoping to raise the hypocrisy” by creating the Instagram post.

He said he was a doomsday prepper, and that the alleged “bomb-making material” was actually fire-starting material.

“I don’t intended to harm anyone,” he said.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch told media it is early days in their investigation, but there was no previous “record of concern for this individual”.

Mr Glynn, a former mine worker, was denied bail and will face court again on 3 February.

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