Australian man is accused of being Islamic State group propagandist who shared 10,000 files online
A man in the Australian city of Melbourne is accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and spreading thousands of pieces of extremist propaganda online over a period of years, the authorities said on Wednesday.He was the seventh man to be arrested in Victoria state since May over allegations of possessing or distributing IS content online.Australia’s federal police didn’t link the latest arrest to the other six and wouldn’t say if they believed the man’s case was connected.The 65-year-old Australian citizen, whose name hasn’t been released, was due to appear in a Melbourne court later on Wednesday.
He’s charged with being a member of a terrorist organization and with transmitting violent extremist material in an encrypted messaging app the authorities didn’t name.The maximum penalty for the offenses is 10 years in prison.The authorities said the man had sent 10,000 files containing extremist content between 2015 and 2020, including material relating to executions, torture and IS propaganda.The federal police allege that he also shared information about avoiding detection from law enforcement and instructional guides on planning and conducting mass casualty attacks, a statement Wednesday said.Acting Assistant Commissioner Paula Hudson told reporters in Canberra that the scale and distribution of the materials by the man “placed him as a principal distributor of ISIS propaganda within the group.”“The material glorified acts of violence and terrorism, spreading hateful ideology that is designed to radicalize others,” Hudson said.An investigation into the man began when border officials examined the man’s luggage as he departed Australia for a six-month trip to Egypt in 2020, the authorities said.
He wasn’t known to have traveled abroad since 2020 and wasn’t linked to any attack or plot, Hudson said.Earlier this month, a 30-year-old Melbourne man was arrested and charged with possessing violent extremist content as he attemp...