Brisbane elite school student pleads not guilty over alleged Labour Day terror attack plot inspired by Unabomber

A Brisbane private school student allegedly discussed bombing a major public event and targeting people linked to Peter Dutton’s Liberal Party after becoming fixated on the Unabomber, a jury has been told. The now 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified due to his age, is standing trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court charged with committing acts in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. He has pleaded not guilty. In her opening address to the jury on Monday, Crown prosecutor Sally Flynn alleged the teenager spent months researching explosives, purchasing materials, testing chemical reactions and planning a future attack targeting either a public gathering or people associated with the Liberal Party. The court was told the investigation began on July 25, 2024, when the boy’s friend, a fellow student, contacted Queensland Police about concerns over conversations he had allegedly been having with the defendant. That report triggered a police investigation which was later taken over by the Queensland Joint Counter Terrorism Team. Search warrants were executed at the homes of the boy’s Brisbane addresses, where police allegedly seized books about terrorism, diaries, electronic devices and materials prosecutors allege were linked to explosive-making. When officers searched one property, they allegedly detected a chemical odour coming from a rubbish bin, prompting the evacuation of occupants and the attendance of Queensland Fire Department specialists. Testing later identified calcium hypochlorite, a common pool chlorine product, wrapped in aluminium foil inside the bin. The Crown alleges forensic examinations of the boy’s phone, school laptop and iPad uncovered extensive material relating to bombs, terrorism and Ted Kaczynski, the American domestic terrorist better known as the Unabomber. Jurors were told the teenager allegedly downloaded Kaczynski’s manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future, and later obtained another Kaczynski book, Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How. Ms Flynn told the jury terrorism expert Professor Andrew Silke is expected to give evidence that the boy had absorbed aspects of Kaczynski’s anti-technology ideology. She told the jury the Unabomber’s goal was the “complete and permanent destruction of modern industrial society in every part of the world”. Among the messages allegedly found on the boy’s devices were references to Kaczynski and discussions about using violence against influential figures. In one WhatsApp exchange allegedly sent to a friend in August 2023, the boy wrote: “We need to mail bombs to people who have high influence on industrial society.” Another message allegedly stated: “Sadly Bunnings doesn’t sell ammonium nitrate fertilizer.” The jury heard the boy allegedly later sent a TikTok message declaring: “The Unabomber was right.” Other material allegedly found on his devices included memes referencing pipe bombs and diary entries in which he suggested Kaczynski “might have been right”. The Crown alleges the planning intensified in 2024. Jurors were taken through a series of WhatsApp conversations between the boy and his friend in which the pair allegedly discussed bomb-making methods, explosive materials and chemical reactions. In one March 2024 exchange, after receiving a photograph, the friend allegedly asked: “Are you making a bomb?” The boy allegedly replied: “per chance”. The court was told the teenager later wrote in a diary: “I now have my hands on some nitrate for my little future project.” The pair allegedly exchanged messages about different types of explosives, sourcing chemicals and testing reactions. The Crown alleges the teenager also researched the annual Labour Day march in Brisbane, which attracted about 20,000 people in 2024. In an April 2024 WhatsApp conversation, the boy allegedly messaged his friend: “I have an idea ... Labour Day March in Brisbane.” He then allegedly added: “We strike there.” The prosecution alleges the teenager later researched the event route, “bomb attacks in Australia” and explosive materials. A diary entry allegedly included a hand-drawn sketch depicting an explosive device detonating on Boundary St, one of the roads along the Labour Day parade route. The jury also heard allegations the teenager researched the Liberal Party and opposition leader Peter Dutton during a period when Mr Dutton’s proposed nuclear power policy was receiving significant national attention. The Crown alleges the future terrorist act being planned involved either “an attack or attacks using a bomb in a public place” or attacks on premises or people associated with, or perceived to be associated with, the Liberal Party. Ms Flynn told the jury the prosecution case centres on allegations the boy spent four months researching, purchasing equipment for and testing explosives while preparing for a future terrorist act. The trial, expected to run for about 10 days, continues on Tuesday.