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They told the court that charge was being withdrawn because the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions had “declined to make a determination” about whether to proceed with it.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

Originally published as Aidhan Kenneth Cooling pleads guilty to possessing extremist material