Hawke's Bay extremist to keep name secret – for now

A Hawke's Bay extremist who planned a mass knife attack on a mosque or mall has appealed a judge's decision today to make his name public.

The Hastings man who had interim name suppression, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison last year after pleading guilty to 13 charges related to indecent communications, objectionable material, and threatening to commit a mass stabbing attack.

Police searched his home on August 20, 2024, seizing two electronic devices containing more than 2300 sexual abuse and exploitation images, including images and videos of child sexual abuse, bestiality and necrophilia. The devices also contained terrorist and violent extremist content, along with a manifesto found in a diary. Two bladed weapons were subsequently found in his bedroom, including a bayonet that he said would be used in the attack.

At the Napier High Court today, Judge Richard Earwaker declined permanent name suppression but counsel representing the offender appealed the decision.

The offender has been before the courts for several years while awaiting sentencing and battling name suppression.

Due to the severity of the charges and the offender's age, Judge Earwaker last month requested the defendant's lawyer provide more evidence of what steps have been taken for rehabilitation while in custody – not wanting to disrupt any rehabilitation progress that may be underway if the name was to be released.

Crown prosecutor Megan Mitchell argued because the defendant had changed his intent over some of the child abuse material – the Crown did not see a reason to continue name suppression.

The offender insisting that he had been extorted into engaging in his criminal behaviour. However, he provided no evidence of that and refused to unlock his phone for investigators when told it could assist with finding evidence of the claim.

He also did not mention the alleged extortion in his first police interview, which he later put down to not wanting “to look like a victim or like a pussy”.

At the Napier High Court today it was revealed the offenders rehabilitation had still not yet fully commenced.

The crown prosecutor highlighted how the health and rehabilitation report plans presented did not show any change in the offender's intent or add any further information as to rehibilitation progress.

"He has not parted from the narrative," Mitchell said.

"He remains entrenched in this position, that he essentially has been bullied into doing this and doesn't really get any personal interest in either the extremist or the child exploitation material.

"He has not moved his position or is not preparade to make admissions that would make rehabilitation and risk to children possible and that is the case, even after this extended period of having his name supressed, having support around him, being aware that people are trying to help him," Mitchell said.

Defence counsel Matt Dixon argued that releasing the identity could disrupt any engagement in rehabilitation.

Judge Earwaker ultimately declined the permanent name suppression as a necessary threshold of extreme hardship was not met.

"It's some ways, [it's] crystal ball stuff isnt it?" he said, referring to claims of disengagement if the identity was to be revealed.

"He is still entrenched in what he has said all along and continues to deny any interest in this material," Earwaker said.

Due to the appeal by the defence counsel, the offender's identity remains supressed, pending the judge's decision on Friday.

Police said they received constant reports of extremism with more than half related to white supremacists.

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New Zealand Police director of national security Sean Hanson told 1News there were trypically 10 extremist tip-offs a week, or around 40 a month.

Hanson said: "So commonly, what we see now is we receive about 40 pieces of information that we treat as a lead per month, which require us to do some work. Many of them, we discount relatively quickly.

"Some of them will require some investigative work and a very, very small number result in us treating it as a case of violent extremism.”

He added: “Unlike many of our close international partners, the most significant proportion – more than 50% of the cases that we deal with – involve what we categorise as identity-motivated violent extremism or white identity extremism or white supremacy. That forms more than 50% of our caseload.”

He said the internet was where most of the radicalising occurred, consistent with what many other countries experienced.

He urged the public to notify police early if they notice concerning behaviour online, saying it was easier to help early.