‘Motivated by hate’: Perth Invasion Day rally attempted bombing declared an act of terror

A Perth man accused of throwing a homemade bomb into a crowd of Invasion Day protesters was allegedly motivated by racism, hatred and “pro-white” ideologies, as authorities formally declare the incident an act of terror.

The 31-year-old man, who cannot be identified due to a suppression order, was allegedly captured on camera hurling the explosive into a crowd of around 2500 people gathered in Perth’s CBD on January 26 to protest the date of Australia Day.

The device, which police claimed was filled with screws and ball bearings and designed to explode on impact, failed to detonate and triggered police to evacuate the event.

Had the bomb exploded, WA Police and the state government believe it could have caused a “mass casualty event”.

The incident was not immediately declared a terrorist act, with authorities taking nine days to investigate the accused man’s motive behind the attack.

On Thursday, WA Premier Roger Cook, flanked by WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett, and Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, announced the declaration.

“I can confirm today, the WA joint counterterrorism team comprising WA Police, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO, have determined the incident last Monday in Perth, should be charged as a terrorist act,” Cook said.

“As a result, a 31-year-old man has been charged with one count of engaging in a terrorist act.

“This is the first time this charge has been laid in Western Australia.

“This charge ... alleges the attack on Aboriginal people and other peaceful protesters was motivated by hateful, racist ideology.”

The new charge, a result of a joint investigation called Operation Dumfries, carries a maximum penalty of life behind bars.

Blanch said the man’s internet history allegedly revealed he had “self-radicalised” online and accessed “pro-white material”.

Asked whether the accused had links to white nationalist groups, Blanch said: “That ideology was prevalent across his accesses to the internet.”

Blanch said the accused man was not known to police ahead of the alleged attack, but said there may have been signs that family or friends could have spotted.

“My call-out to our community: if you know someone who is saying these things, whether it’s against Aboriginal people or anyone else, and they are accelerating in their hateful views, call authorities. We will take action. We’re not going to wait,” he said.

“...whatever was looking over the people in that rally that day stopped it from going off, and we should all be thankful...”

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch

Barrett said she believed the new charge was the first of its kind in the country where Aboriginal people were the target.

She said the charge was a warning to other individuals and groups espousing hateful rhetoric.

Barrett revealed that AFP national security investigations teams or “hate disruptors” – which are already in operation in New South Wales, Victoria and Canberra – were setting up in WA.

“There are individuals and current and emerging groups across Australia, including in the west, which are eroding the country’s social fabric by advocating hatred, fear and humiliation, that is mobilising towards violence and I am here to put these groups and individuals on notice,” she said.

The terrorist act declaration comes after rally organisers and politicians urged authorities to recognise the seriousness of the incident, as it appeared to be a calculated attempt to harm First Nations people and their supporters.

A motion was also passed in the Senate this week to condemn the attempted bombing, with Senator Lidia Thorpe labelling the incident “an act of horrific, overt hate and racism”.

Blanch rejected accusations that the police did not treat the incident seriously, pointing to the immediate involvement of the AFP and ASIO, and his public commentary after the incident that suggested it was being investigated as a potential terror attack.

“To the people that say it took too long, I disagree with their premise,” he said.

Rally organiser Fabien Yarran, who will meet with Cook and police on Thursday afternoon, said he was still disappointed it had taken so long to declare the incident a terrorist act.

“Everybody, from the grassroots and people that were there, saw it was a terrorist act. It was a hate act,” he said.

“I don’t know why it took them so long.”

McCarthy, who walked through Forrest Place on Thursday morning with Noongar elders, called the incident “an attempted bombing of a peaceful, First Nations rally, led by First Nations, Australians and their allies”.

“What’s happened these past couple of months has certainly highlighted the fact that all of us, wherever we are in this country, need to be vigilant, and we need to deliberately work towards a social, cohesive community,” she said.

McCarthy said there was no doubt in her mind that Australian Federal Police, the WA Police and ASIO, worked immediately to assist to keep Australians safe.

In parliament on Thursday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia stood with First Nations people.

“We will do everything required to keep you and your loved ones safe,” he said.

Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said the nation “can never accept a situation where we turn to violence to settle our political differences”.

“These are fragile times for our society and it is incumbent upon all of us in this place to nurture peaceful, civil debate and guard our great democracy against hate and violence,” she said.

Blanch reiterated that the device allegedly thrown at the rally was a live explosive.

“It should have gone off and had a fuse that was lit,” he said.

“Whether it fell out or failed ... whatever was looking over the people in that rally that day stopped it from going off, and we should all be thankful that we don’t have deceased or seriously injured people in Western Australia.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke emphasised the catastrophe Australia could have faced had the bomb exploded.

“This is a bomb fitted with screws and ball bearings into a crowd of people rallying in support of First Nations Australians,” he said.

“Think about the number of Australians who were there in a tight space, had it gone the way it was allegedly intended to, we would have been looking at something quite catastrophic.”

The 31-year-old man has already been charged with intent to cause harm and making an explosive device with suspicious intentions. He will formally be charged with the terrorism offence when he next appears in court later this month.

It is the second terror act investigated by WA Police in as many years, after a teenage boy was shot by police when he stabbed a stranger in a car park in Willetton in 2024.

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