‘Paid actors’ could be behind some antisemitic attacks, Albanese says
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AFP investigating if ‘criminals for hire’ have been behind at least some recent incidents across the nation. Anthony Albanese says it appears some of the perpetrators behind a spate of antisemitic attacks in New South Wales and Victoria could have been paid actors rather than ideologically motivated offenders, seemingly confirming the target of police investigations.
Hours later, the Australian federal police commissioner, Reece Kershaw, said that authorities were probing whether potential “criminals for hire” were behind at least some of the recent incidents, warning it could be a long investigation. Albanese faced a string of questions on Wednesday morning after Kershaw on Tuesday revealed federal police were investigating if overseas actors were paying local agents to carry out antisemitic attacks in Australia, including in cryptocurrency.
The lines of inquiry also included the possibility that young people were being radicalised online to commit antisemitic attacks. The Coalition had separately raised concerns about whether organised terror groups were involved, but Kershaw did not specifically raise this as a possibility. It was not believed at this stage that terrorist cells were linked to the spate of attacks.
“These investigative lines of inquiry are looking at whether some individuals have been paid to carry out some antisemitic acts in Australia. We believe criminals for hire may be behind some incidents,” Kershaw said in an additional statement on Wednesday.
