WA joint counter-terrorism team charge Jayson Joseph Michaels over allegations he was preparing for terror act

An alleged white supremacist was plotting mass casualty terror attacks on WA’s Parliament House, police headquarters and religious buildings, and even tried to buy explosives before he was foiled by police. Federal police say Jayson Joseph Michaels had stockpiled weapons and compiled a manifesto which outlined in detail the extreme violence including bombings and shooting that he was allegedly intending to inflict on faith communities and government authorities. The 20-year-old came to the attention of police last month as part of an encrypted messaging group chat where he allegedly expressed antisemitic and racist ideologies. Police Commissioner Col Blanch said investigations led officers to conduct a search warrant at a property in Bindoon on Thursday afternoon where they seized seven rifles, a ballistic vest, multiple knives, a gas mask and lock picking tools. “Most concerningly, there was a notebook that outlined preparations for a terrorist attack at significant locations including the WA Police Headquarters, building, Parliament House and places of Muslim faith in WA,” Mr Blanch said. “We will allege he was acting alone to prepare for an extremely serious terrorist attack that would create a mass casualty event.” Mr Michaels was arrested at the Wheatbelt property, wheere he lived with his parents, and on Friday was charged by the Joint Counter Terrorism Team with planning a terrorist act. Australian Federal Police Supt Peter Hatch said it is the first time someone in Western Australia has been charged with such an offence. “It’s alleged the man had written a manifesto style document outlining plans for an ideologically motivated attack of violent extremism involving mass casualties,” Mr Hatch said. “The man detailed intentions to attack Muslim faith places of worship in WA. The threshold has been met for a terrorism offence under the Criminal Code. “There are three key components that must be met, including the action causes or threatens to cause serious harm to human life, serious damage to property, endangers life, creates a serious risk to public health or safety, or seriously interferes with critical infrastructure.” Mr Hatch said investigators still had a “significant” amount of data to analyse from Mr Michaels’ seized phone and devices. Authorities don’t know how close the alleged attacks were to being carried out, but they will allege Mr Michaels was planning to use firearms and had sought to obtain explosives. Premier Roger Cook said the intelligence obtained by police and their swift response had ensured the community were safe. “To attack the heart of our democracy, to attack our freedom of religion, to attack those who keep us safe - whatever our differences, we all have the right to go about our lives free from the fear of violence,” Mr Cook said. “I know this news will be upsetting to Western Australians. It comes on top of a very difficult few months, including the Bondi Beach massacre, the arrest of a Perth man for allegedly being in possession of a bomb in Forest Place. “The threats are real in our community. We must not let hate and division win - we must protect social cohesion.” In a statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the revelations as “deeply shocking” and reiterated his plea for calm. “He (Mr Michaels) should face the full force of the law,” Mr Albanese said. “As I’ve said many times we need to take the temperature down. Political leaders have a particular responsibility not to fan the flames of bigotry. There is no place in our country for any kind of racially or religiously-motivated prejudice or hate.” Police have passed on intelligence to overseas law enforcement agencies about the group chat which Mr Michaels was allegedly part of. At this stage, they won’t confirm how they became aware of the encrypted messages, and are still trying to determine the identity of the other participants. But authorities believe Mr Michaels was plotting alone. WA Iman Wadood Janud described the allegations as horrifying, especially during the holy month of Ramadan. “Being Ramadan, it’s an extremely sacred and holy and spiritual time for Muslims ... right now, in Australia and across the world, you would see mosques filled with worshippers due to the sacredness of this month and the sanctity of this day,” he said. “(The fact) there would have been a possibility for an individual to carry out these terrorist attacks on government buildings, parliament as well as mosques, is something that is extremely concerning and painful for the Muslim community.” He said Islamophobia was on the rise, and said his mosque — Nasir Mosque — had installed CCTV cameras and electric gates in recent years in a bid to increase its security. “A mosque is a house of God, and therefore it is open to any and everyone, regardless of what faith they belong to,” he said. “But unfortunately, because of such dangers over the years, we’ve had to increase our security ... the doors we’ve had to put into place, the barriers that we’ve had to put in place are completely countered to the purpose of the mosque. “It’s disappointing at this current time that a place of worship has to adopt such extreme (measures) to ensure a potential terrorist attack doesn’t happen.” Mr Michaels’ arrest comes after Liam Alexander Hall, 32, was last month the first person in WA to be charged with a terrorism offence, after he allegedly threw a homemade explosive device into Perth’s Invasion Day rally on January 26. Mr Michaels was remanded in custody and appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon facing five charges, the most serious of which was for acting in preparation for a terrorist attack. He is the first person to face this charge in WA. Magistrate Belinda Coleman ordered the specific details of the case not be read out in court as it may “distress” people in the gallery. The accused man was dressed in a plaid jacket with shoulder length hair, and sobbed quietly behind the dock’s glass panelling during the court proceedings. His lawyer Roman Kan said his client wanted to apply for bail but that application had to be adjourned as police had only just laid the terrorism charge on Friday afternoon. “I have only had a look at the police notes of the diary,” Mr Kan said. “Any sensible submissions I will make will go to the strength of the prosecution case and I am going to need more time,” he said. Ms Coleman adjourned the bail application to March 23 and ordered a home detention report be completed in case she chose to release him. She stressed that no decision had been made on Mr Michaels’ bail and warned that due to the seriousness of the charge he would have to prove there were exceptional circumstances to be released. “You have to demonstrate exceptional reasons why you can be released from custody. It is a very high bar that has been set,” she said. Prior to his arrest, WA Police held no intelligence on the Bindoon man and weren’t aware of his alleged terrorist plot until they searched his property. “I think it’s evident by how quickly we have charged this person with preparing for an act of terrorism, as to how confronting what we have read in that notebook (was),” Mr Blanch said. “If you see someone that’s not doing well and they’re heading down a pathway of radicalisation, whatever that extreme ideology may be, get them help before we end up where we are today. “I think it pains every police force that we have to arrest these people in the community because they’ve been radicalised online - I would much rather they got help years ago.” The WA joint counter-terrorism team are continuing to investigate the matter.