WA Terror Suspect Allegedly Planned Extremist Attacks in Manifesto

Police allege that a 20-year-old Western Australian (WA) man charged with plotting a terrorist act wrote a manifesto detailing plans for a nationalist and racist, ideologically motivated act of violence.

Jayson Joseph Michaels, a labourer in the small town of Bindoon, around 84 kilometres north of Perth, has been charged with act in preparation for or planning a terrorist act.

He appeared before Perth Magistrates Court on Feb. 27, becoming the first person in the state to face such a charge.

The man was arrested after the WA Police State Security Investigation Group searched his home as part of an investigation into alleged antisemitic, Islamophobic and racially-motivated online hate speech.

According to a notebook seized by police, Michaels was planning a mass casualty event in Perth. Among his targets were several mosques, WA Police headquarters and the state’s parliament.

Police also confiscated seven firearms, imitation firearms, a butterfly knife, a large collection of knives, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, a ballistic vest, gas masks, and lock-picking equipment.

Western Australian Police Commissioner Col Blanch said Michaels had been monitored since January 2025 after police received intelligence that white supremacist ideology was being discussed on Telegram, an encrypted communications platform, over the past two months.

Content included anti-Islamic and antisemitic material, and “quite frankly, abhorrent conversations,” Blanch said. The commissioner further claimed Michaels intended to obtain explosives and use firearms in planned attacks.

Michaels attended St Stephen’s School in Perth’s northern suburbs before switching to TAFE to study IT in year 10 and then going on to work for a local gravel supply business.

On its Facebook page last year, the manager of Bindoon Hill Gravel Supply, Ian Hall, said in a Facebook post last year that Michaels had “reached out” for employment.

“Jayson is a little unsure on what his career pathway looks like, though [he] asked to have a crack with our crew,” Hall wrote.

Police said they believed there is no ongoing risk to the community, which echoed a statement by WA Premier Roger Cook less than an hour after Michaels was first arraigned.

However, security has been increased at a number of sites, including Parliament House and places of worship.

The most serious charge Michaels faces—preparation for or planning a terrorist act—carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Additional charges against him include using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend, carrying or possessing a prohibited weapon, failing to store a firearm properly, and possessing or acquiring ammunition without authorisation.

Michaels was refused bail and is next due to appear before court on March 23.