A man has been charged after allegedly wearing a necklace with a Nazi symbol on it near a mosque in Perth.
Western Australia Police said the 18-year-old man was arrested in the vicinity of the Masjid Al Rahman mosque in Gosnells on Tuesday morning.
Officers conducting proactive patrols as part of Operation Dalewood, which was launched after the Bondi Islamic terrorist attack, saw the man “allegedly wearing a black face covering and a necklace displaying a Nazi symbol” at about 8.20am.
The man, from Huntingdale, was taken to Gosnells police station and charged with displaying a Nazi symbol in a public place and failing to obey a police order.
He was granted bail to appear in Armadale Magistrates Court on January 16.
Operation Dalewood was launched to patrol religious sites, and Police Minister Reece Whitby said there was “no such thing” as minor anti-Semitism, because “it all has the potential to lead to devastating acts of terror”.
“I make no apology for coming down hard on anyone who threatens or intimidates our Jewish community and this proves our WA Police force is using our laws with zero tolerance,” he said.
“Operation Dalewood is already showing the importance of a highly visible police presence to ensure all members of the community are safe. Our Police force remains on high alert in removing any threat to community safety and I thank the police officers for their proactive patrols and swift response.”
WA Police said state security investigation group officers were working to identify anyone engaged in “racially motivated or extremist conduct”, and would “take firm action against any individual or group who seeks to incite hatred or division through public displays of extremist ideology”.
Premier Roger Cook said there was no heightened terror threat in Western Australian in the wake of the Bondi massacre.
Header image: The Masjid Al Rahman mosque in Gosnells (Google Street View).
