An 18 year-old man from Albury is arrested, following a NSW Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) investigation, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on Dec. 9, 2020. Photo: Australian Federal Police / Handout via Reuters.

Australian police arrested on Wednesday an 18-year man who had allegedly expressed interest in committing a mass causality attack, motivated by right-wing ideology.

Police said they expect to lay charges on Wednesday against the unidentified man from Albury, a small town 553 kilometers (344 miles) southwest of Sydney.

“The male we’ve arrested has an extremely right-wing ideology and is focused on neo-Nazi, white supremacist and anti-Semitic material,” Australian Federal Police Assistant Commission Scott Lee told reporters in Sydney.

“A couple of days ago what we observed was an escalation in the tone which went to a support of a mass casualty event, and potentially his involvement in that event.”

Related coverage

January 15, 2021 2:20 pm

0

UK Man Who Delivered Nazi Rant on Plane Journey from Poland Avoids Jail

A British man who engaged in a tirade of racial abuse punctuated by Nazi salutes while on a flight from...

Australia has been on heightened alert against the threat of home-grown radicals after several “lone-wolf” attacks in recent years.

A white supremacist gunman from Australia killed 51 Muslim worshipers in New Zealand last year.

Australian intelligence agencies have regularly warned of an increased threat by right-wing aligned individuals since then.