CW: Discussions of terrorism, violence, racism, gun violence

The Invasion Day rally in Boorloo / Perth on 26 January was an odd sort of day—within a short afternoon there was sunshine, rain and an alleged terrorist attack. An estimated 2,500 people came together to listen to speeches and march in support of First Nations resistance on the anniversary of Britain’s colonial invasion. The gathering was held in Forrest Place, a square in the heart of the CBD with a long history of political action and resistance. There, a local man allegedly threw a bomb into the crowd. The device did not detonate. A full nine days later, the incident was declared an alleged terrorist attack. This marked the first time anyone has been charged with alleged terrorism in Western Australian history.

Incident Details

Liam Alexander Hall was principally charged on 26 January, with one count of an “unlawful act […] with intent to harm”, and one count of “making or possession of explosives under suspicious circumstances”. This improvised explosive was identified by the WA Police as a “fragment bomb”, filled with explosive materials, and covered in nails and ball bearings allegedly designed to hit bystanders on detonation. Strong criticism followed the initial charges as many groups, such as the Human Rights Law Centre, and First Nations leaders called for the incident to be treated as a hate crime or terrorist act given the alleged attack targeted a high number of First Nations peoples.

WA authorities confirmed on 28 January that they were further investigating the event as a “potential terrorist attack” after two days of public appeal. Australian Minister for Home Affairs Mr Burke later clarified, “Within 40 minutes of [the initial] arrest, the Joint Counter Terrorism Team [JCCT] had been engaged.”

That the WA JCCT was privately investigating the attack was not public knowledge during initial criticisms of WA Police’s response. On 5 February WA Premier Roger Cook announced that the WA JCCT had determined the incident a terrorist attack and that a man had been charged with “engaging in a terrorist act” the previous day, on 4 February. The delay in explicitly labelling the incident as alleged terrorism on 26 January was cited as an effort to ensure the government would not interfere with the legal process.

Notably, in the days after the arrest and police action on 26 January, a witness who identified the bomb came forward and shared her experience with the ABC. Speaking anonymously, the witness criticised the “nonchalance of the police”: after approximately 10 minutes of waiting with the device in the crowd, the witness picked it up herself and presented the bomb directly to officers.

Present at the rally, I personally saw the bomb had been thrown into the crowd before 12:19pm, and police did not muster the crowd until at least 12:45pm. Initially, demonstrators were told they could not continue to gather and must move on. Assuming the police were attempting to shut down the protest, which has happened at many social justice campaigns in recent years, the crowd did not move. Only the mention of a bomb threat made evacuation efforts progress.

Response

In a Darwin press conference soon after Invasion Day, Albanese commented that authorities should “throw the book” at the then unnamed perpetrator. With his identity concealed at this time, Hall was well-protected from the court of public discussion. Following his arrest on 26 January, a suppression order was put in place to prevent the media from revealing the alleged terrorist’s identity on the basis of safety concerns. It was illegal to name Hall for over three weeks. When lifting the order, Magistrate Lynette Davis stated “it is not in the interest of justice to make a suppression order.” Questions have been raised about why the suppression order remained in place long after Hall was taken into secure police custody, a move that arguably reduced the safety risk used to justify it. Keeping Hall out of the public eye for weeks shielded him from scrutiny by the public, and the media, generating concerns about the transparency of the legal process.

First Nations activists, such as Menang Noongar Woman Megan Krakouer, have pointed to the alleged terrorist incident on 26 January as representative of “so much racism, discrimination and hate towards [First Nations] people.” Krakouer also emphasised the incident was comparable to attacks on Camp Sovereignty in Naarm / Melbourne last year, and the “terrible” rhetoric surrounding Indigenous deaths in custody.

Hall was allegedly radicalised by “pro-white” material online, making the case this is not a contained incident.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a statement in Parliament on 5 February about national concern following the Boorloo attack: “This alleged act of terrorism was deliberately aimed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Australians. [...] this was alleged terrorism driven by racism and hatred.”

Photography by Felicity Bayne