Aidhan Kenneth Cooling pleads guilty to possessing extremist material

A Riverland man has confessed to extremism offences – including possessing a video of an infamous massacre.

A Riverland man caught with a copy of the Christchurch massacre video and an infamous white supremacist manuscript now faces a two-year sentence for his crimes.

In the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Aidhan Kenneth Cooling pleaded guilty to possessing extremist material.

Cooling’s confession came after SA Police prosecutors dropped a second, more serious charge of possessing a record or document for use in a terrorist act.

They told the court that charge was being withdrawn because the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had “declined to make a determination” about whether to proceed with it.

Cooling, 28, of Loxton, was arrested and charged in August last year, when police found a copy of the Christchurch massacre video on one of his electronic devices.

Aidhan Kenneth Cooling charged leaves the Adelaide Magistrate Court on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

They also found a manuscript – which The Advertiser has chosen not to name – described, in court, as a “white supremacist manuscript”.

The document espouses a debunked conspiracy theory that an “elite” group of political leaders and other authority figures are encouraging migration and multiculturalism as a form of “white genocide”.

On Tuesday, Jason Evitts, for Cooling, asked for a lengthy adjournment prior to sentencing submissions.

“I’ll need to canvas several issues, including a psychological report,” he said.

Magistrate John Wells remanded Cooling on continuing bail to face court again in May.

Cooling declined to comment outside court.