A second man was charged for his alleged involvement in the 2024 Melbourne Adass Israel synagogue arson attack, the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Victoria Police, and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation announced in a joint Thursday press release.
The Meadow Heights man was arrested on August 14 and charged by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team (JCTT) on Thursday with arson, endangering life, and theft of a motor vehicle. The 20-year-old is alleged to be one of three men who deliberately set fire to the Ripponlea synagogue in December, wounding two people and causing extensive structural damage to the historic house of worship.
AFP Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Acting Assistant Commissioner Nick Read said that the task force would not allow the crimes to go unpunished, and the arrest demonstrated that they were still focused on identifying the perpetrators.
“This investigation has been one of the highest priorities for the JCTT. I want to reassure the community – especially the Jewish community – that the AFP, together with Victoria Police and ASIO, are working relentlessly to bring this investigation to its conclusion,” said Read. “We warned that further arrests would follow, and today we have taken yet another step towards justice.”
Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh also said in a statement that the investigation was steadily progressing and urged anyone with relevant information to contact law enforcement.
“At no point should any of those who were involved in this attack feel like they are safe from police scrutiny – we are continuing to pursue every avenue of inquiry and every piece of information provided to us by the public,” said Walsh.
“Victoria Police has seen firsthand the impact of a crime like this, how it has impacted both the Jewish community and the broader community. There is no place for this type of offending in our state, and we will be relentless in pursuing those who are prepared to engage in these acts of violence.”
Task force charges Werribee man as one of three who broke into synagogue
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria in a Saturday Facebook post thanked law enforcement for its commitment to finding those responsible but said that it sought clarification from Walsh as to why none of those arrested so far had been charged with terrorism offenses.
On July 30 the task force charged a Werribee man as one of the three people who broke into the synagogue and set the building alight. Identified by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency as Giovanni Laulu, the 21-year-old Melbourne resident was also charged with reckless conduct, endangering life, and motor vehicle theft.
Fourteen days earlier, a Melton South man was charged for stealing the vehicle allegedly used to transport the suspected arsonists, but he was not charged for directly setting fire to the building himself.
The stolen vehicle, a blue Volkswagen Golf sedan, is believed by law enforcement to be the same one used in the November 21 LUX Nightclub arson. In May the Victoria Police charged a 20-year-old Pakenham man in relation to the incident.