A plot to kidnap Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the hours after the Bondi Beach attack has been uncovered after secret texts were leaked from a group chat.
The plan involved a man being offered $10,000 to rent a van and kidnap Albanese so a new ‘nationalist’ regime could be installed.
The threat came from far-right associates of neo-Nazis within an online chat room on Discord run by March for Australia organisers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
One man, who who went by the username ‘Cav’, said he believed there were enough members of the National Socialist Network (NSN) who could carry out the plot.
The NSN was disbanded on January 18 ahead of new hate speech laws being introduced. Daily Mail does not suggest its leader Thomas Sewell was involved in the kidnapping plot.
‘I genuinely believe the best option is to is literally to f***ing grab him [Albanese] and put him in a room and force him to answer like every possible f***ing question,’ Cav said.
‘Yes, but are you actually going to do it?’ another user asked.
‘I would, yeah,’ Cav replied. ‘And if anyone wants to … like rent the van and help f***ing come grab him with me. Like, yeah, let’s go.’
Anthony Albanese was at the centre of a kidnap plot that was devised in the wake of Bondi
The plot came from far-right associates of the NSN, which is led by Thomas Sewell (centre). Daily Mail does not suggest Sewell was involved in the plot
It’s believed a user then offered him $10,000, while others suggested they try and hold a ‘proper debate’ with Albanese first.
Days after the plot was discussed, police swooped on a neo-Nazi associate’s home in Sydney over a separate social media post believed to have allegedly called for Albanese’s abduction.
Nathan Ballesty, 27, allegedly used a carriage service at his Beacon Hill home, on Sydney’s northern beaches, between December 19 and December 21 to threaten serious harm against Albanese.
The Australian Federal Police’s recently formed National Security Investigations team immediately launched a probe into the alleged threat and traced it back to Ballesty.
Ballesty’s social media accounts show he frequently expressed right-wing views, with the political tone of his posts having ramped up following the slaughter of 15 people at Bondi Beach on December 14.
Members of the Discord chat’s livestream channel also discussed sending high-powered bombs to mosques through the post, prompting another police raid.
It’s understood investigations remain ongoing.
Speaking on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning, Albanese acknowledged it was ‘true the threats have increased’ but remained defiant.
The messages appeared in an online chat room run by March for Australia (pictured, an anti-immigration protest in Melbourne on August 31)
‘There have been a range of issues that we have had to deal with, including in the week after December 14,’ he said.
‘My focus is on keeping all Australians safe, not myself. I trust the AFP and the authorities to do their task and I’m absolutely determined to not be deterred from attending any event or engaging as Prime Minister with the Australian people.’
The news comes just weeks after the NSN announced it would disband ahead of the new hate speech laws that came into effect on January 20.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke had named the NSN, along with radical Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir, as key organisations that would be outlawed.
The group confirmed they would be ‘fully disbanded’ by 11.59pm on January 18 in a message posted to Telegram earlier this month.
‘The disbandment includes not only the National Socialist Network, but its co-projects White Australia, the European Australian Movement and the White Australia Party,’ the statement read.
‘The disbandment is being done before the laws take effect to avoid former members of the organisations from being arrested and charged.
‘These are some of the most draconian laws the West has ever seen.
Nathan Ballesty (above) allegedly used a carriage service at his Beacon Hill home, on Sydney’s northern beaches, between December 19 and December 21 to threaten serious harm against Albanese
‘In Australia, political freedom is effectively dead and buried. The Australian government, on behalf of the Jewish lobby, is criminalising peaceful opposition groups based on their political expression. Blood and Honour.’
It comes as authorities warn of the growing threat of online extremism, as far-right influencers take to social media to call for ‘bloodletting’ and ‘lynchings’ before planned anti-immigration rallies on Australia Day.
A series of ‘March for Australia’ events are expected to go ahead across the country on January 26.
The group’s organisers have denied any official connection with the NSN, however much has been reported about the communications between the two groups.
In September, a March for Australia event was attended by neo-Nazis, with some even donning yellow vests to act as official safety marshals.
