Convicted terror offender back behind bars weeks after release

A convicted terror offender, who once threatened to kill a magistrate and police, is back behind bars after being rearrested for allegedly breaching supervision orders.

A convicted Sydney terror offender who once threatened to behead police and declared “war” on Australia is back behind bars just weeks after being released.

Blake Nicholas Pender, 31, was due to appear in Sydney’s Newtown Local Court on Tuesday after being rearrested at his Petersham home after failing to comply with supervision orders.

Pender was arrested in June 2017 for a series of bizarre and shocking crimes during which he declared he was “at war” with Australia, praised ISIS and was caught on tape threatening to “martyr” himself by blowing up a train.

He was jailed for four years after he pleaded guilty to possessing a knife connected with a terrorist act and threatening a judicial officer.

He was released from Silverwater prison in October but was subject to an interim supervision order so authorities could monitor him.

The Australian Federal Police have alleged that following his release, he breached his conditions by accessing social media and deleting data from his phone.

Blake Pender was previously jailed for four years. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts.

He was charged with four counts of contravening an interim supervision order, a charge that carries a maximum of five years in prison.

“There is no specific or impending threat to the community in relation to this matter,” the AFP said in a statement.

Pender was originally arrested in June 2017 following an incident in the early hours at Surry Hills in inner Sydney during which he approached three police officers while speaking in a foreign language and attempted to pull a 22.5cm knife from his sleeve.

When he was placed in handcuffs he told the officers: “if I still had the knife I’d f***ing kill you all” and “the proudest thing a man can do is behead a cop”.

He was remanded in custody and appeared in Central Local Court the following day where he appeared via videolink.

After he was denied bail he threatened to kill Magistrate Joanne Keogh, police and the military.

He was in 2019 sentenced to four years in prison, with a three-year non-parole period, before his release earlier this year.