Phillip Galea, a fascist arrested in ‘anti-terror’ raids back in August, planned to bomb two “left wing premises” and cause “loss of life to persons possessing leftwing ideologies” according to statements made by Victoria Police in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday.
The Guardian is reporting that Phillip Galea conducted surveillance on two targets, obtained bomb making material, conducted research on improvised explosive devises, and sought to “recruit at least five other capable persons to assist with his plan”.
Galea has history. Galea is linked to a variety of far-right groups, and has been active in far-right and neo-Nazi politics since at least 2010. In the past eighteen months, Galea has been stopped with a knife at a rally in Richmond, stopped with tasers and mercury the day before a rally in Melton, and arrested with a flare at a rally in Bendigo. Andy Fleming has published an article detailing Galea’s links with Reclaim Australia, the True Blue Crew, the United Patriots Front, and possibly local Combat 18 boneheads.
Galea is due back in court on 19 December 2016.
See also: The Saturday Paper, 13 Aug 2016, How Reclaim Australia hid a ‘terrorist’
As Andrew Zammit explains, Galea is hardly the first far-right figure to engage in political violence in Australia.
The alleged plot, if proven, would not be the first case of far-right violent extremism in Australia. To choose some recent examples, in 2010 self-described Combat 18 members fired shots at a mosque in Perth. In 2012 two Melbourne neo-Nazi skinheads were sentenced to jail for brutally assaulting a Vietnamese student. In 2013 a former soldier and self-described neo-Nazi was jailed for weapons and explosives offences.
Police have not disclosed which “left wing premises” were targeted by Galea in this alleged plot, but I suspect this might be relevant.
In November last year a group of United Patriots Front goons led by Blair Cottrell shot a bizarre video of themselves harassing staff and volunteers at 3CR community radio, and then again at the Melbourne Anarchist Club. As Jeff Sparrow pointed out, the footage was “clearly intended to be intimidating”.
But it did more than intimidate. These little video excursions by Blair Cottrell and others were a way of signalling to the UPF’s supporters who their enemies were. They were identifying targets. It seems likely that Phillip Galea took the hint.
Another matter that remains unclear is how the case against Phillip Galea might yet impact Blair Cottrell’s own legal troubles. In September three former members of the UPF were charged with religious vilification offenses for their involvement in a “mock beheading video”. Yesterday Blair Cottrell confirmed he has also received charges related to “racial vilification I think”.
As the dregs of the UPF pass through the courts, other far-right groups are calling rallies, and the anti-racist response continues.
Photo Credit: The featured image was stolen from James Ross.
Shame on the police for not putting him on remand a long time ago and locking him and his mates up! Or are they semi approving of the fascist agendas? I have seen the Perth police at work, and if there culture is led by bullies they easily turn to thuggery. I saw 11 police pick up an aboriginal girl for shoplifting in 2004 and will never forget how we could do nothing except try and shame them for doing it!!Grr, time for change and the police doing the job they are paid for and not letting violent criminals off a People?