Latest news with #farRightExtremism
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Australia officially lists Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation
Australia has formally listed a network of neo-Nazi groups as a terrorist organisation months after targeting it with sweeping sanctions. Terrorgram is a collective that advocates for white supremacist violence on encrypted social media platforms, such as Telegram. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Friday likened it to a 'giant chat group dedicated to evil' and said it has 'been a direct threat to Australians'. He added that there 'has been one attack in particular that was directly part of this network that took place'. 'This is very different to a lot of the listings that people would have heard about in the past,' Mr Burke told the ABC. 'When people think about a terrorist group organising, normally you imagine people in small groups, meeting in private homes or something and gradually recruiting people to their cause before they organise something. 'This is more like a giant chat group dedicated to evil to hatred and to violence.' He said many of the 'members would not know each other, would never meet each other'. 'And the attacks when they occur are very much lone wolf attacks,' Mr Burke said. 'It's a form of far right extremism – we're talking about white supremicism, we're talking about homophobic violence, and we're talking about the sort of organisation that describes the Christchurch killer as a 'saint'. 'This is a really bad organisation and a different sort of organisation to what we've listed before.' We have officially listed Terrorgram as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (the Criminal Code). — Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) June 26, 2025 Anyone found guilty of being involved with Terrorgram could face up to 25 years behind bars. The move came amid a surge far right extremism, highlighted by rising antisemitism following the October 7 attacks in Israel in 2023. Australia's domestic intelligence agency last year raised the terror threat to 'probably' because of deteriorating social cohesion and a spike in radicalisation among young men. The agency's chief, Mike Burgess, warned at the time people were becoming radicalised for increasingly complicated and varied reasons and that ideologies were blending. It was the first hike in a decade.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- CTV News
British teenager who took life was radicalized by U.S. neo-Nazis, inquest says
Confiscated items, a "Mein Kampf" book, a metal head of Adolf Hitler and a flag with swastika are displayed at a press conference in Koblenz, Western Germany, Tuesday March 13, 2012. (AP Photo/dapd/ Torsten Silz) LONDON — Warning: This story contains topics dealing with mental distress and suicide. A British teenage girl, who had said she wanted to blow up a synagogue and became fixated with Adolf Hitler, had been sucked into far-right extremism by two American neo-Nazis, a British coroner said on Monday. Rhianan Rudd, who was 16, took her own life in May 2022 at a children's home having been investigated by police and Britain's domestic security service MI5 over extremist views. Two years earlier, Rudd's mother had referred her daughter to the counter-radicalisation scheme, Prevent. She is believed to be the youngest girl to be charged with terrorism offenses in Britain after she was arrested when 14, though the case against her was later dropped. At an inquest into her death, the Chief Coroner of England and Wales Alexia Durran said she had been initially radicalized by her mother's former partner, a U.S. neo-Nazi who had convictions for violence. She was further drawn into extremism by U.S. white supremacist Chris Cook, who was jailed in 2023 for terrorism over plans to attack power grids, Durran also said. Rudd, who had autism, became obsessed with fascism, even carving a swastika into her forehead, and had downloaded material about making bombs and 3D guns, Durran said. Durran concluded that both Mallaburn and Cook were each 'a significant radicalizing influence on Rhianan' who had 'played a material role in introducing and encouraging Rhianan's interest in extreme right-wing materials.' Learning from pain Rudd's mother Emily Carter said she believed that the police and MI5's prolonged investigation had played a role in her daughter's death. 'Whilst nothing can ever bring Rhianan back, I urge all the authorities that came into contact with her to learn from what happened so that no other family has to experience the pain we have endured,' Carter said in a statement. The charges against Rudd were not dropped until August 2021, four months after social workers believed she might have been a victim of sexual exploitation. However, giving her ruling at Chesterfield Coroners' Court in central England, Durran rejected the argument that the state had played a role in her death, saying it had been appropriate to investigate and prosecute her. 'I am satisfied that the missed opportunities that occurred in this case were not systemic,' she said. British authorities have become very concerned about the online radicalisation of young people. MI5's Director General Ken McCallum said last year that 13 per cent of all those they were investigating were under 18, a threefold increase in the last three years. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service offered condolences to Rudd's family. 'This is a tragic case,' added Nick Price, CPS director of legal services. We do not prosecute young or vulnerable people lightly. Terrorism offenses are extremely serious, and these are decisions our specialist prosecutors take great care over." Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne.
Reuters
09-06-2025
- Reuters
British girl who took life was radicalised by U.S. neo-Nazis, inquest says
LONDON, June 9 (Reuters) - A British teenage girl, who had said she wanted to blow up a synagogue and became fixated with Adolf Hitler, had been sucked into far-right extremism by two American neo-Nazis, a British coroner said on Monday. Rhianan Rudd, who was 16, took her own life in May 2022 at a children's home having been investigated by police and Britain's domestic security service MI5 over extremist views. Two years earlier, Rudd's mother had referred her daughter to the counter-radicalisation scheme, Prevent. She is believed to be the youngest girl to be charged with terrorism offences in Britain after she was arrested when 14, though the case against her was later dropped. At an inquest into her death, the Chief Coroner of England and Wales Alexia Durran said she had been initially radicalised by her mother's former partner, a U.S. neo-Nazi who had convictions for violence. She was further drawn into extremism by U.S. white supremacist Chris Cook, who was jailed in 2023 for terrorism over plans to attack power grids, Durran also said. Rudd, who had autism, became obsessed with fascism, even carving a swastika into her forehead, and had downloaded material about making bombs and 3D guns, Durran said. Durran concluded that both Mallaburn and Cook were each "a significant radicalising influence on Rhianan" who had "played a material role in introducing and encouraging Rhianan's interest in extreme right-wing materials". Rudd's mother Emily Carter said she believed that the police and MI5's prolonged investigation had played a role in her daughter's death. "Whilst nothing can ever bring Rhianan back, I urge all the authorities that came into contact with her to learn from what happened so that no other family has to experience the pain we have endured," Carter said in a statement. The charges against Rudd were not dropped until August 2021, four months after social workers believed she might have been a victim of sexual exploitation. However, giving her ruling at Chesterfield Coroners' Court in central England, Durran rejected the argument that the state had played a role in her death, saying it had been appropriate to investigate and prosecute her. "I am satisfied that the missed opportunities that occurred in this case were not systemic," she said. British authorities have become very concerned about the online radicalisation of young people. MI5's Director General Ken McCallum said last year that 13% of all those they were investigating were under 18, a threefold increase in the last three years. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service offered condolences to Rudd's family. "This is a tragic case," added Nick Price, CPS director of legal services. We do not prosecute young or vulnerable people lightly. Terrorism offences are extremely serious, and these are decisions our specialist prosecutors take great care over."
