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A man facing allegations of hurling a homemade explosive into a crowd at an Invasion Day rally has appeared in court for the first time since the charges were brought against him.
Thirty-two-year-old Liam Alexander Hall stands accused of committing a terrorist act related to the incident that took place in Perth on January 26.
The unsettling event led to the evacuation of thousands from Forrest Place, a central location in Perth, after authorities discovered an object filled with volatile chemicals, nails, and metal ball bearings.
According to police accounts, Hall allegedly threw the explosive from a walkway positioned above a gathering that included Indigenous people, families, and supporters.
Fortunately, the device failed to detonate, despite reports suggesting that its fuse had been 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 Ms 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”.
Hall 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 September 16 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.