Man accused of plotting WA terror attack believed assault he was planning would be worse than Bondi beach shootings, court hears | Western Australia
A man accused of planning a mass-casualty terror attack targeting public buildings and places of worship believed his attack would be worse than mass shootings on Bondi beach, a court heard.
Jayson Joseph Michaels detailed in a diary an alleged violent attack plan on Western Australian police headquarters, WA Parliament House and mosques during an unsuccessful bail bid in Perth magistrates’ court on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old faces five charges, including preparation for a terrorist act, after police seized the diary during a raid on his parents’ home in the town of Bindoon, north of Perth, in February.
Federal Prosecutor Kirsten Nelson said that document contained entries that amounted to a list of actions Michaels planned to take, including making guns and body armor for “justice day.”
“The diary is a clear statement of his intention to commit an act of terrorism,” he said.
Michaels, who appeared in court via video link from Casuarina prison with a chin beard and shoulder-length hair, allegedly planned to buy a 3D printer to make weapons and took a job where he would have access to bomb-making materials, but returned empty-handed a day later.
Nelson also said he compared the Bondi beach attack to his own terrorist plot and wrote notes about how it might have affected the attack.
He allegedly wrote after the shootings that killed 15 people and injured many more on December 14, “What I want to do to these two groups pales in comparison to today.”
“What will they think when my face is on TV?” It is claimed that he wrote
Michaels allegedly accessed online material related to extreme white supremacist ideology; Some of them are described as the manifesto and user manual of an organization declared a terrorist organization.
Nelson said he researched entry points and door locks at target locations and considered using a van that resembled an ambulance to escape.
He also allegedly wrote notes about purchasing a ballistic helmet, designing and manufacturing body armor or an Iron Man-style metal suit.
“I think I’m addicted [Watch People Die] Website,” he allegedly wrote in another diary entry.
The court heard the website was open on his computer when police raided his room.
Michaels’ defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, Christian Porter, said his client was an isolated and depressed young man who had no intention of going through with the plan.
“This was a wild dream,” he said.
“A Walter Mitty-like fantasy.”
Porter said Michaels’ diary “has all the hallmarks of a Marvel comic.”
“This diary reveals him as a fraud full of big talk,” he said.
Porter said the crown’s case was weak because it relied on diary.
Judge Belinda Coleman said the diary, found in a locked drawer, contained “disturbing” entries and was not just “nonsense”.
It was “chilling material” that contained derogatory references to various ethnic groups, he said.
He said Michaels, who refused bail, also had two guns, 900 bullets and various knives in his bedroom.
Michaels has not yet entered a plea and will appear at Stirling Gardens magistrates’ court on May 13.
