Terrorism charge laid over alleged attempted bombing at Invasion Day rally in Perth

Police have charged a 31-year-old man with terrorism over the alleged attempted bombing of an Invasion Day protest in Perth.In a joint press conference on Thursday, the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, said it was the first time such charges had been laid in that state, but the incident must be condemned “in the strongest possible terms and we must call this for what it is”.“Last Monday on January 26, a man allegedly threw a homemade bomb into a crowd of people peacefully protesting in the heart of Perth city,” Cook said.“Thankfully it did not detonate but for that we could have seen a mass casualty event with injuries and potential loss life. It is an incident that shook all Western Australians, and all Australians, to the core.”He continued: “This charge, which has been laid by the Joint Task Force, alleges the attack on Aboriginal people and other peaceful protesters was motivated by hateful, racist ideology.”About 2,500 people were at Forrest Place in the Perth CBD for the 26 January protest when a man allegedly threw what police have described as a homemade “fragment bomb” off a balcony of the nearby shopping centre into the crowd.The Australian Federal Police, ASIO and WA Police began investigating the incident as a “potential terrorist act” last week.WA Police have alleged the device was designed to explode on impact but had failed to explode.The man from Perth’s northern suburbs was arrested at the protest and was initially charged with one count of committing an unlawful act or omission with intent to harm (endangering life, health or safety of any person), and one count of making or possession of explosives under suspicious circumstances.More details soon …