An Australian man has been charged with terrorism offences after several raids by police in Melbourne and Central Victoria. The 31-year-old, who appeared in an Australian court today, dismissed all allegations against him and said that the charges are a conspiracy against his "patriot movement".
The accused has been identified as Phillip Galea from Braybrook and is arrested for allegedly planning a terror attack. Not only this, he has also been accused of making documents likely to facilitate terror attacks.
However, during the hearing at the Melbourne court Galea did not apply for bail. He said he would fight the charges and believed they were a conspiracy against him.
"I will be fighting these charges and I believe they are a conspiracy against the patriot movement," he said.
According to some Australian media reports, Galea had links with far-right organisations like Reclaim Australia and True Blue Crew. However, Reclaim Australia, in a Facebook post, claimed that it had no links with the arrested man and that it "always denounced violence".
Previously, Reclaim Australia and True Blue Crew have been involved in violent clashes with pro-immigration groups at rallies in Melbourne.
This incident has put Australian police on high alert because far-right political parties opposed to Islam and Asian immigration are recently on the rise in the island continent.
Daniel Andrews, the 48th Premier of Victoria, confirmed that there is no immediate or impending threat to the community.
"We take the threat of terrorism very seriously," he said.
