Arrested soldier continues to share white nationalist material

Friday, 7 February 2020

A soldier currently detained by the New Zealand Defence Force and charged with threatening national security has continued online correspondence with white nationalist sympathisers. 

The 27-year-old was in December charged with the unauthorised access and disclosure of military information. He co-founded white nationalist group The Dominion Movement, which subscribed to the same identitarian politics as the March 15 terror suspect.

A military lawyer says the charges the soldier faces are among the most serious, and he believes further criminal charges laid by police could follow.

Stuff understands the soldier, who has name suppression, was interviewed by police after the March 15 terror attack for his involvement in a white nationalist group. In January, Stuff revealed that counter-terrorism detectives were also investigating the soldier's far-right links. 

**READ MORE:

* Counter-terrorism detectives question far-right soldier's family and friends

* Soldier alleged to have traded military information was leader of white nationalist group

* Soldier with far-right links accused of disclosing military information

* Arrested New Zealand soldier with far-right ties was questioned after March 15 attacks**

It is not known whether the classified information the soldier allegedly took was distributed to white nationalist operatives.

Neither police nor the Defence Force would comment on the ongoing investigation.

Since his detention, a social media account has been credibly linked to the soldier, indicating he continues to enjoy access to the internet. 

The Twitter account was first identified by activists who track members of alt-right, far-right, and white nationalist groups online. The account was activated on December 31, 2019, two weeks after his arrest. 

For more than a month the person behind the account posted racist, homophobic, and antisemitic comments, including references to a 'white genocide' conspiracy theory.

'Even if we are to witness the end of our people, at least we had the privilege of being a part of this amazing journey our people set out on so many thousands of years ago,' the account posted. 

The account also describes being arrested and detained for having 'IRL' (in real life) alt-right friends, and for committing a 'thought crime'.

The account posts material that reveals it is located in the Manawatū-Whanganui region, and Stuff has corroborated other published material, including images, with identifying information known about the soldier.

The account was deleted on January 31, after Stuff published a story about terror concerns surrounding the soldier.

A Defence Force spokeswoman declined to answer specific questions about the soldier's arrest conditions.

'The accused continues to be subject to open arrest conditions, which can be reviewed by his commanding officer at any stage,' the spokeswoman said.

The Manual of Armed Forces Law says: 'Open arrest involves only such restraint as may be necessary to ensure a continued presence … The member is to attend such parades or musters as may be required. The member is not to consume alcohol. He or she may perform his or her normal duties'.

CHARGES REVEAL 'SIGNIFICANT' BREACH

Wellington barrister Christopher Griggs, who has 20 years experience working in military law, said this was the first soldier he knew to be charged with the unauthorised access and distribution of information that could prejudice the security of New Zealand. 

'For a member of the armed forces to use information that they've been given in confidence to prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand, that's a big deal,' he said. 

Griggs, who has no involvement in the case, said the soldier could possibly have access to weapons, and to army publications which could include tactics, techniques, procedures, and plans for major national events.

'But also, if you have someone like the Dominion Movement … they might think it's kind of handy to have, to get their hands on information which shows them how the New Zealand Defence Force conducts operations because they might want to use those sorts of things themselves. 

'There's a whole load of information which an organisation that is intent on the use of violence to achieve its ends might find useful, both from a point of view of how it might conduct its own operations and also how you know what it might anticipate the security services are going to do against it.'

He said the Defence Force was likely wanting to keep the prosecution of the soldier within the military court system, despite the potential for criminal charges in civilian courts.

This would be done so that classified information involved in the case could be presented without revealing it to the public, he said.