‘Have I broken the law?’: Ugly cop clash at ‘online troll’s’ home

Confronting footage has emerged of the moment cops clashed with a father outside his family home. Police say there’s a very good reason they stormed his house.

A father has had his firearms licence suspended after police discovered his “troll” X account. Picture: X

A father-of-four has had his firearms licence suspended after police became concerned about an anonymous “troll” social media account he runs from home.

Gareth, a self-described “regular battler” from Auckland, shared confronting footage of police knocking on the front door of his family home in search of guns earlier this month.

Police said they were following up on posts on X - under the alias account name “Knob Oddy” - they had tracked back to him.

They said the posts displayed “an anti-government, anti-police, racist attitude” that often promoted “violence towards minorities”.

In a document served to the dad by NZ Police’s Firearms Safety Authority, they declared him “no longer a fit and proper person to be in possession of a firearm or airgun”.

“The inflammatory and antagonistic posts you have created have the potential of inciting or inspiring violence against those that are your targets,” they added.

One post in July allegedly spelt out the word “n*****” with cats, while another allegedly showed pride flags rearranged to resemble a swastika.

Under the guise of anonymity, police allege he also wrote that Maoris should “need to apply for licences to have children” and “gays shouldn’t be seen in society”.

“Women will tell you there’s no reason to hit a woman. This one needs to be buried alive,” police allege he wrote in April.

Police turned up at an Auckland dad’s home to search for guns. His firearms licence was suspended after police found his alleged social media “troll” account. Picture: X

A snippet of the document served to the man by the NZ Police’s Firearms Safety Authority. They claimed he posted a string of “inflammatory posts”. Picture: X

‘Have I broken the law?’ Frenzied clash with cops

It’s understood police first showed up to the man’s family home in early August to ask him about his alleged posts on X.

Five days later, he let police know he had sold all his firearms.

On September 6 they arrived at his house a second time to serve the firearms suspension notice and search his home for guns.

“The alt-right … are framing this as an affront to free speech & police overreach,” wrote one X user who re-shared the footage online.

The clip begins with the dad asking police if they have a warrant to enter his home.

“Do not make it harder than it needs to be,” a male officer replies. “You need to show us where those guns are.”

“I’ve told you, I don’t have any guns here,” he insists.

Things escalate as a female officer brushes past him and attempts to enter the home.

“Excuse me, what have I done wrong? Leave my wife alone! Get out of my house! I’ve got children in there!” the man pleads.

“We don’t want them to come in our house without a warrant,” he continues as his wife appears to block the front door.

Police calmly tell the man they “don’t need” a warrant to enter the home and ask him to lower his voice.

“I will do it voluntarily … what are you doing? Have I broken the law?” the man shouts back, accusing officers of “assaulting” his wife.

“You’ve endangered my family,” he continues.

The clip cuts out before officers enter the home to conduct the firearm search.

Police clashed with the man outside his home as he refused to let them enter. Picture: X

‘It’s a troll account’

In an interview with fringe internet radio station Reality Check, Gareth defended his actions and said he simply wanted to know why officers were at his house.

“I didn’t really want to engage with them, I wasn’t even keen on opening the door, but my wife opened the door and I was standing right next to her,” he said.

“They said ‘can I come in’ – and I said ‘no thank you’. And from that point I recorded the whole conversation.”

He said police officers later told him they were there in relation to his alleged online activity.

“I said hold on, I’ve got an anonymous account on social media that posts jokes.

“It’s basically a troll account… inflammatory, (it’s about) getting a rise out of people but also funny.

“We’ve all got bigger things in our lives than a couple of stroppy things (posted) on X.”

Quoting controversial Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, he added: “My personal philosophy has always been... in order to think, you must risk being offensive.”

“I’ve always risked being offensive in pursuit of the truth.

“I don’t doubt that I’ve posted many, many offensive things, some of them even offensive to myself. I do believe I’ve acted fully within the law at all times.

“I’m just one regular Kiwi battler, I can’t take on the whole bloody government.”

He revealed he had deleted his X account after the “scary” incident.

Police reveal reason for visit to home

New Zealand Police told news.com.au the visit to the home in Bayview on September 6 was to serve a firearms suspension notice.

“Concerns had been raised over his compliance with the Arms Act and associated with firearms regulations,” police said in a statement.

“The 39-year-old Auckland man informed police he had sold all his firearms, and none were located at the address.”

They said he surrendered his firearms licence to police.