Jayson Joseph Michaels: Court told man accused of plotting mass casualty event in Perth was ‘fantasising as escapism’

The man accused of planning a failed terror attack was a “depressed, lonely and isolated” teenager who only dreamed of it as a way of escape, his lawyer told the court.

Jayson Joseph Michaels, 20, made a bail bid at a hearing in Perth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and appeared via video link from prison. Mr Michaels was detained after being charged with terrorism and weapons offenses following a raid on his parents’ home in Bindoon, about 75km northeast of Perth, in February.

Police claimed to have found a written manifesto containing plans to carry out an extremely violent attack on Parliament House, police headquarters and mosques in Perth that would lead to mass casualties.

It was claimed that dozens of bullets, guns and knives were seized during the raid.

Authorities believe Mr. Michaels was radicalized online and motivated by white supremacist ideology and hate sites.

But his lawyer, Christian Porter, argued that this was a case of a depressed, isolated and lonely teenager writing as a form of escape with no real purpose.

Mr Porter said the prosecution’s case was weak and relied on Mr Michaels’ diary full of grandiose ideas that would never come true.

He argued that Mr. Michaels’ diary was shocking and awful, but that the prosecution’s reliance on his diary entries weakened the case.

“It is despicable and disgusting that the applicant chose this world to escape, but what is written here represents some level of escape and an attempt to make friends,” he said.

“Saying things that will never happen.”

Federal Prosecutor Kirsten Nelson told the court whether he intended to carry out the actions he kept in his diary entries and said in online chat groups that was up to the jury.

Ms. Nelson said the defendant consulted manifestos of right-wing mass murderers and white supremacists, researched sites he planned to attack, discussed his plans in online chat forums and consumed violent content on his computer.

“When police arrived at the bedroom they had a video open on their browser called Watch People Die,” he said.

The prosecutor argued that Mr Michaels listed a timeline of things to be achieved in the coming years and planned out the steps to be taken in stages before the “day of justice”.

Bondi said he wrote about the terrorist attack and it was a failure compared to what he had planned.

He claimed Mr Michaels was practicing lockpicking in his bedroom and researching entry points to a mosque in Perth, and that when people would be there would be the most advantageous time to carry out an attack.

“He consults more than once with other people he thinks might be experts,” he said.

“He made a point of avoiding ASIO and designed a patch to go with the jacket he was going to wear, anticipating some notoriety associated with the attack.

“He talks about point scoring, which refers to the manifesto he downloaded regarding specific actions taken during the terrorist attack.

“He says, ‘What will they think when my case is on TV?’”

Ms Nelson said the 20-year-old’s diary showed how Mr Michaels would finance and stockpile weapons and ammunition that he planted for use in an act of terrorism.

“He is not a child, this is not a crime or a pattern of behavior that continues over a period of time, it is not an impulsive act,” he argued.

Judge Belinda Coleman said she had reviewed the diary and data from his devices and internet searches.

He said the diary was found in a locked drawer in his bedroom.

“(They are) not just the ramblings of a disturbed mind,” he said.

“There appears to be evidence that the defendant was researching on the Internet to make explosives, was doing 3D computer research on how to make firearms, and was contacting others on how to make such weapons.”

Judge Belinda Coleman said that after reviewing the material she would describe them as “the writings of a disturbed teenager”.

He said the defendant did not convince him that there were exceptional circumstances for him to be released on bail and refused to grant him bail.

Mr Michaels is due to appear in court next month.