Bomb-making SA grandfather Aaron Ellis jailed, urged by judge to ‘revise’ his right-wing, anti-Islamic beliefs
A suburban grandfather caught with unfinished bombs, explosives, terrorist manuals and the Christchurch shooter’s manifesto has been urged by a judge to “revise his beliefs”.
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A suburban grandfather caught with explosives, terrorist manuals and the Christchurch massacre shooter’s manifesto could be free from prison within months.
On Tuesday, the District Court backdated Aaron Ellis’ prison term to the date of his arrest, saying both he and the community would benefit from him being on supervised parole.
Judge Rauf Soulio said Ellis suffered numerous physical and mental health issues, and noted he was not accused of directly threatening violence toward anyone.
However, he said Ellis’ patriotic ideology, anti-Islamic beliefs and “general discontent” with life remained concerning.
“You are personally defensive, yet deny any connection between your right-wing anti-Islamic ideology and the fact of your possessive the explosives in question,” he said.
“You have a tendency to minimise the seriousness of these charges (which) reduces your insight as to your responsibility, leading to resentfulness.
“It’s recommended there be extensive exploration (on parole) as to your motives for keeping such material … you might need to revise your beliefs.”
Ellis, 45, of Davoren Park, pleaded guilty to taking steps to manufacture an explosive and
possessing bombmaking instructions.
In April 2019, he was found to have the highly-volatile substance known as “Mother of Satan” in his shed’s freezer.
Police seized other items including unfinished pipe bombs and nail bombs as well as a ‘shrapnel reel’ – an improvised explosive containing a strip of nails and screws in a row.
His phone and computers, meanwhile, had “anti-Islamic, patriotic” material on them including the manifesto of the Christchurch massacre shooter.
Despite the discoveries, Ellis insisted he did not harbour ill-will toward, nor wish harm to, anyone and was simply a curious enthusiast of fireworks and military paraphernalia.
He told a psychologist that police had “overreacted” to the materials and his “online behaviour”, saying his comments about Christchuch were “made in jest”.
In sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Soulio dismissed those assertions.
“I reject the submission that these items were possessed for the manufacture of entertainment devices … their possession had sinister connotations,” he said.
“You say you had been drawn into an online community that sported anti-Islamic views and became blinded by its propaganda.
“Both you and the community will benefit from you being on a lengthy period of supervised parole.”
He imposed a prison term of three years, three months and four days, with a “lower than usual” non-parole period of 19 months due to Ellis’ personal issues.