Queensland teen acquitted of planning terror attack against Liberal Party members

A teenager from south-east Queensland has been acquitted of charges related to planning a terror attack targeting Liberal Party members and the public. The 17-year-old, whose identity is protected by youth justice laws, faced trial in Brisbane after being accused of holding ideologies similar to the American "Unabomber."

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The prosecution case is that… the threat of action was to be done or threatened, with the intention of advancing an ideological cause.

During the trial, the prosecution contended that the then-16-year-old had meticulously planned to detonate an improvised explosive device at a Queensland Labour Day event in May 2024. The alleged plan later shifted to targeting members of the Liberal Party due to their policy on nuclear power. Crown prosecutor Sally Flynn KC told the jury the teenager was motivated by anti-technology and anti-capitalist beliefs, emphasizing that he had researched explosives and acquired materials with the intention of advancing an ideological cause.

However, the defense lawyer, Laura Reece KC, argued that the evidence pointed to a "really troubled kid" struggling with personal issues, including his parents' separation and a past self-harm attempt. While acknowledging the teenager's fascination with and experimentation with explosives, Reece maintained that he possessed conflicting ideas and was not planning a concrete attack. She suggested his online research involved "wildly contradictory sources from the dark corners of the internet."

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this was no joke

The jury deliberated for over a day before reaching the acquittal verdict, prompting tears of relief from family members present in the public gallery. The case involved the presentation of diary entries and text messages, where the teenager discussed his fixation with bombs, describing it as an "autistic interest" and an "unhealthy obsession."

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He was seeking out extremist material from wildly contradictory sources from the dark corners of the internet.