Christchurch mosque gunman Brenton Tarrant's ‘hateful’ letter from jail ends up on 4chan

The six-page handwritten letter, which appeared this week on website 4chan, contained language that would be construed by white supremacists as a call to arms

The Corrections Department acknowledged the letter from the Australian national, who is accused of attacking two mosques, should have been ‘withheld’

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New Zealand Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis. Photo: New Zealand Herald

Published: 12:00am, 15 Aug 2019Updated: 11:17am, 15 Aug 2019

New Zealand prison officials on Wednesday admitted they made a mistake by allowing an accused terrorist to send a letter that contained language that would be construed by white supremacists as a call to arms.

The six-page letter from Brenton Tarrant, accused of attacking two Christchurch mosques, was posted this week on the website 4chan, which has become notorious as a place for white supremacists to publicise their views. And it comes at a sensitive time, with other alleged killers from El Paso to Norway citing Tarrant as an inspiration.

The letter appeared to be written in pencil on a small notepad and was addressed to “Alan” in Russia.

On review, we acknowledge that this letter should have been withheld.

NZ Corrections Department

Much of it appears to be relatively innocuous, discussing a one-month trip Tarrant says he took to Russia in 2015. But the letter also warns that a “great conflict” is coming and uses language that could be construed as a call to arms.

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis said he did not think the prison system should have allowed Tarrant to send the letter. “I have made myself clear that this cannot happen again,” he said.

But Davis also said that all New Zealand prisoners have rights that include the ability to send and receive mail. He said the prison system could withhold correspondence, and confiscated some other letters Tarrant had attempted to send or receive.

“We have never had to manage a prisoner like this before – and I have asked questions around whether our laws are now fit for purpose and asked for advice on what changes we may now need to make,” Davis said.