‘Violent extremist ideology’: Australian Federal Police charge Canberra teen with terror offences
A young boy appeared in court accused of terrorist offences; Investigators allegedly seized chemicals, gas masks, military-style clothing, imitation firearms and extremist written material from the boy’s home.
The ACT’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team raided the Downer address in Canberra on Wednesday, the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
“ACT JCTT alleges that the teenager adhered to a violent extremist ideology, shared extremist video content and discussed extremist events with other users online,” the statement said.
The juvenile is charged with possession or control of violent extremist material obtained or accessed using a transportation service; He is charged with one count of unauthorized possession of prohibited firearms, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The ACT JCCT is made up of officers drawn from the AFP, ACT Policing and ASIO who led the search.
The boy was refused bail and was remanded in custody to appear in the ACT Children’s Court on January 19 next year.
“The investigation is ongoing and other charges have not been ruled out,” police said.
