Death threats traced to protester
By ASHLEY GARDINER
05jun01

AN M1 protester promoted a scheme on the Internet to raise bounty money for the assassination of public figures, a court heard yesterday.

Kyneton Magistrates' Court was told Matthew Stephen Taylor made death threats addressed to police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon.
Internet messages allegedly sent by Mr Taylor, 46, of Baynton St, Kyneton, had also come to the attention of the Australian Federal Police and the US Secret Service.

Mr Taylor was charged with two counts of criminal damage on Friday.

One charge related to the vandalism of a McDonald's outlet in Collins St.

Three new charges of disobeying the directions of prison management were laid yesterday.

Sen-Constable Nicholas Conte told the court he obtained photographs and video footage of Mr Taylor committing acts of vandalism.

The footage included Mr Taylor telling a Herald Sun reporter to read messages he uploaded to an Internet site under the alias "Robin Banks", the court heard.

Threatening messages on the website, Melbourne Indymedia, had been traced to Mr Taylor's Kyneton address.

Sen-Constable Conte said Mr Taylor had written about "assassination politics", a movement with US origins, which involved raising funds and paying an assassin.

"When sufficient funds are raised, people are asked to assassinate (a particular) person," Sen-Constable Conte said.

"I believe (Mr Taylor) supports this cause by comments he has made on the Internet."

The court was told a US court had convicted the American proponent of assassination politics, Jim Bell, of threatening federal officials.

The court heard Mr Taylor had posted a message directed at Ms Nixon saying: "Your blue storm troopers will be `flash fried'.

"Some of your pigs are wasting time . . . they might be better off fetching your doughnuts."

Under questioning from defence lawyer Cameron Ford, Sen-Constable Conte said no deaths had resulted from assassination politics.

Magistrate William Gibb granted Mr Taylor bail to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on August 16.

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