In brief
- A man accused of throwing a homemade bomb into a crowd at a 26 January rally has faced court for the first time.
- He had been too unwell at appear at a previous hearing in Perth.
A man accused of throwing a homemade bomb into an Invasion Day rally crowd has faced court for the first time since being charged.
Liam Alexander Hall, 32, is accused of engaging in a terrorist act over the incident in Perth on 26 January.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Forrest Place in Perth's city centre after police found an object containing volatile chemicals, nails and metal ball bearings.
Police allege Hall threw the explosive device from a walkway above the crowd of Indigenous people, families and supporters.
The device did not detonate despite a fuse allegedly being lit.
Hall's case has previously been heard in Perth Magistrates Court, but he was too unwell to appear on those occasions.
On Tuesday, he was present in a courtroom at a psychiatric hospital, where the three charges against him were read via a video-link.
Hall, dressed in a white shirt and black pants with unkempt hair, wasn't required to enter a plea and said very little.
He slowly raised his hand to acknowledge his identity and softly said "yes madam" when magistrate Heidi Watson asked if he was Liam Hall.
Hall also said he understood when Watson read the three charges he is facing to him for the first time.
In addition to the terrorism charge — the first in Western Australia's history — Hall is charged with intent to harm after he allegedly "threw an improvised grenade into a protester crowd".
He is also accused of making and possessing explosives.
Police will allege the incident was a nationalist and racially motivated attack targeting First Nations people at the protest.
Hall was self-radicalised and acted alone, police previously said.
He had allegedly accessed bomb-making instructions and "pro-white male" material online, and was accessing and participating in the ideology.
Hall was remanded in custody, and his case was adjourned to 16 September for committal mention in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court.
The court previously heard Hall was in a vulnerable mental health condition and was living alone when the alleged Australia Day attack happened.
If he is found guilty of the terrorism offence, he faces life behind bars.
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