A Queensland teenager charged with terrorism offences has been granted bail after police allegedly seized violent extremist material including an Islamic State video and chemicals for explosives.
Max Belter, 18, appeared in a green prison jumper in Brisbane magistrates court on Thursday after a joint terrorism taskforce raided his property at The Gap in Brisbane’s north.
He has been charged with two counts of possessing and controlling violent extremist material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.
Belter had a video and a document linked to “proscribed terrorist organisations” on his electronic devices, police alleged.
This included a 30-minute Islamic State instructional video on how to stab a person to death, demonstrated on a live victim, which ends with the person being decapitated, the court heard.
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He also had a 256-page document that included detailed instructions for lone terrorist acts and acts of civil disobedience designed to target minority groups and targets of societal significance, including government buildings and infrastructure, the court heard.
The court also heard Belter possessed a range of books of a racist and extremist nature, including Mein Kampf, the Anarchist Cookbook, the International Jew – a collection of antisemitic writings published by Henry Ford – and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski’s Industrial Society and its Future.
Commonwealth prosecutor Ellie McDonald argued Belter was an unacceptable risk to the community based on his alleged offending and should not be granted bail.
She said an extensive review of devices seized had not been undertaken but an initial review had identified extensive materials “indicative of deep ideological alignment” with nationalist extremism.
“Over 50 documents were identified relating to the construction of explosives and firearms,” she told the magistrate Rosemary Gilbert.
He was also alleged to have stored chemicals in his cupboard necessary to build an improvised explosive device.
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Gilbert ruled that Belter’s defence counsel, Samuel Bain, had demonstrated that “exceptional circumstances” existed to justify granting bail.
She explained that the standard was an “extremely high hurdle” to meet.
Gilbert granted bail based on factors including Belter’s age, that he had not undertaken any preparations for an actual attack, that he had no prior criminal history and had cooperated with police and told the Australian federal police he was willing to engage in a deradicalisation program.
Belter will appear in Brisbane magistrates court again next month.