Christchurch Mosque Massacre Inquiry Missed Gunman’s Online Trail, Book Argues
Authors challenge official findings on the 2019 killings of 51 Muslim worshippers, citing years of extremist posts, alleged far-right connections and unanswered questions about a missing hard drive
By Abdullahi Yusuf
A new book challenges New Zealand’s official inquiry into the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre, arguing that years of online activity and the gunman’s apparent connections to far-right networks warranted closer scrutiny before he killed 51 Muslim worshippers.
In He Told Us: How an Australian Terrorist Committed Far-Right Terrorism in Christchurch, New Zealand, researchers Chris Wilson and Michal Dziwulski challenge the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s conclusion that the attacker was an isolated individual whose attack could not plausibly have been prevented except by chance.
The authors argue that the gunman left a trail of online warning signs that the inquiry failed to adequately examine before the March 15, 2019, attacks on Masjid al-Noor and the Linwood Islamic Centre. Their findings were examined in an October 22 review by Inside Story.
At the centre of their criticism is the inquiry’s approach to what authorities knew, or should have known, about the attacker before the massacre.
An initial briefing to New Zealand’s Cabinet proposed examining what relevant agencies “knew or should have known” about him. Although the final terms of reference also required the commission to consider whether available information could or should have alerted agencies to the attack, Wilson and Dziwulski argue that the inquiry did not adequately pursue the broader question of what authorities ought to have discovered.
They contend that this limitation contributed to the commission’s conclusion that there was no plausible way to detect the gunman’s preparations except by chance.
The authors also question whether the commissioners had sufficient expertise in far-right extremism and the online communities in which the gunman participated.
While the commission’s report found that much of the attacker’s online activity was concentrated on YouTube and Facebook, the researchers say they identified years of posts on 4chan, 8chan and Gab that they attribute to him. According to Inside Story, they linked the pseudonymous posts to the gunman through linguistic similarities with his verified writing and the locations from which the posts were made.
The authors argue that the posts reveal an international network of white supremacists who exchanged extremist memes, celebrated previous mass killings and competed for attention and approval within far-right online communities.
Their account challenges the portrayal of the attacker as a lone extremist disconnected from a wider ideological network.
The book also examines his apparent connections to Australian far-right organisations, including the United Patriots Front, True Blue Crew and Lads Society. Wilson and Dziwulski argue that these possible links deserved greater attention in efforts to understand his radicalisation and preparations for violence. The alleged connections are part of the authors’ reassessment, rather than findings established by the royal commission.
Another unresolved issue concerns a computer hard drive belonging to the attacker that has never been found. The commission considered the possibility that the device might contain relevant information but concluded that its contents were unlikely to have added anything significant to its investigation.
Wilson and Dziwulski challenge that assessment, arguing that unanswered questions about the gunman’s offline activities and possible contacts with Australian and European extremists leave gaps in the account of his preparations.
The authors also raise the possibility that the gunman arranged for an unidentified person to distribute footage of the massacre if he was unable to do so himself. They argue that investigators should establish whether such an accomplice existed, although their suggestion does not establish that another person was involved.
Alongside its examination of the attacker, He Told Us documents the lives of some of the people he killed.
Among them was Abdelfattah Qasem, a Palestinian who settled in New Zealand with his family, worked as an interpreter supporting migrants and ran a farm with his wife. He was attending Friday prayers at Masjid al-Noor when the gunman attacked.
The book includes accounts and photographs of some victims and closes with the names of all 51 people killed.
The authors also examine the massacre’s influence on subsequent far-right violence, arguing that the Christchurch gunman became a source of inspiration for later attackers who admired his actions.
The royal commission’s report remains the official account of the attack and the response of New Zealand’s public agencies. Wilson and Dziwulski’s book challenges aspects of that account, arguing that the gunman’s online activity and possible extremist connections deserve closer examination to understand the warning signs surrounding the massacre and the prospects for preventing similar attacks.
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