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Radicalisation and the Rise of Anti-Government Extremism in Australia

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The recent shootings at a rural property near Porepunkah in Victoria, which left two police officers dead and one wounded, have drawn parallels with the 2022 ambush at Wieambilla in Queensland, where Gareth, Stacey, and Nathaniel Train shot three police officers and a neighbor. Experts, including Josh Roose, a political sociologist, attribute the motivation behind these attacks to a process of radicalisation that involves a deep hatred of police and an ideological orientation towards anti-government extremism. Roose points out that both incidents share remarkable parallels, despite the fact that the perpetrators were linked to different ideologies.

Key Takeaways:

  • The perpetrators of the Wieambilla and Porepunkah attacks were both anti-government extremists with a deep hatred of police.
  • Gareth Train, the leader of the Wieambilla attack, developed a radical form of Christian theology, "pre-millennial, dispensationalist apocalyptic ideology," which led him to believe that the end times were coming.
  • Dezi Freeman, accused of the Victorian attack, subscribes to the "sovereign citizen" movement, which is a global phenomenon driven by socioeconomic issues, income inequality, and economic injustice.
  • Both perpetrators were radicalised online, with Gareth Train allegedly developing his views in the YouTube comments section and communicating with an American conspiracy theorist, Donald Day.
  • Covid-19 accelerated the process of radicalisation, particularly among people spending a lot of time online, feeling disconnected, angry, and marginalized.
  • The sovereign citizen ideology places all the blame back on government for personal woes, creating a sense of disconnection and anger among its adherents.
  • American sovereign citizens have killed police in a string of terrorist incidents since the 1990s, and the movement is increasingly dangerous, particularly in remote areas where police may have to visit properties that hold symbolic value to sovereign citizens.
  • The Queensland state coroner's court is currently preparing its findings on the Wieambilla inquest, which heard evidence about the police response and the process of online radicalisation.

Statistics:

  • Since the 1990s, American sovereign citizens have killed police in a string of terrorist incidents, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people.
  • The FBI has described the sovereign citizen movement as a "domestic terrorist movement" and a threat to law enforcement.
  • In 2015, the NSW police concluded that the movement was a threat to law enforcement and called it a "domestic terrorist movement".
  • According to Josh Roose, the movement is growing and is increasingly dangerous, particularly in remote areas.
  • The Queensland state coroner's court will release its findings on the Wieambilla inquest, which included evidence about the police response and the process of online radicalisation.

Sources:

  • "Australian man and two children shoot police officers dead in remote town of Porepunkah in Victoria" by AAP (2023)
  • "Wieambilla coronial inquest: Expert witness paints picture of radicalisation" by Josh Roose (2022)
  • "The Queensland coroner's court" (no date)
  • "Sovereign citizen movement" by FBI (2011)
  • "NSW police" (2015)

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