Australian teen charged with terrorism after entering politician’s office with intent to kill

SYDNEY – An Australian teenager was charged with a terrorism offence on June 27 after walking into a politician’s electorate office with plans to kill him, the authorities and local media said.

The 19-year-old entered the office of New South Wales state parliamentarian Tim Crakanthorp in Newcastle, about 170km north of Sydney, on June 26 before he was arrested in a nearby museum and found with weapons and tactical equipment, the Australian Broadcasting Corp and the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

He was held overnight and charged on June 27 with “acts done in preparation for, or planning, for terrorist act”, a police statement said.

In a hearing where the youth appeared via video link, Acting Magistrate Anthony Spence told the court that the teenager was accused of entering Mr Crakanthorp’s office “with intent to kill him due to his status as a Member of Parliament (and) in preparation of planning a terror attack”, the ABC reported.

A court representative named the accused as Jordan Patten, adding that Patten did not apply for bail and it was formally refused. Patten was not yet required to enter a plea.

The police statement said the accused had circulated a document to public figures and media outlets, without giving further details. The ABC and the Herald reported Patten had shared a 200-page manifesto that detailed multiple grievances, including anti-immigration and anti-diversity views.

Mr Crakanthorp said in a statement that he and his staff were unharmed in what he called a very serious incident.

Patten is next due appear in court on Aug 21, the court official said.

Gun and knife violence is rare in Sydney, one of the world’s safest cities, but in recent months, there has been a spate of stabbing attacks.

In April, six people were killed in a

mass stabbing attack at a shopping centre in Sydney

, in which police shot dead the attacker.

A few days later, a teenager allegedly

stabbed an Assyrian Christian bishop

mid-service in Sydney. The teenager and five others have been charged with terrorism-related offences. REUTERS