A man accused of preparing a manifesto threatening attacks on two Auckland schools and other public buildings has been found guilty on all charges. The case involved threats to use 3D-printed firearms and explosives, with police tracing the material to Tiedan Huo after an innocent former student was initially named as the sender.
eLocal Report: Based on reporting by RNZ.
A jury in the Manukau District Court has found Tiedan Huo guilty of 12 charges relating to threats against Waiuku College, Rutherford College and other public buildings.
Huo was also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of explosives and possession of objectionable material.
He had denied all charges and, partway through the trial, elected to represent himself instead of continuing with the lawyers who had been acting for him.
The jury deliberated for just under three hours before returning guilty verdicts on all charges.
The Manifesto Sent to Waiuku College
The prosecution case centred on a threatening email received by staff at Waiuku College in March last year.
Crown prosecutor Gareth Kayes told the jury the email was sent at 1.42am on 12 March and carried the subject line “Important: Don't come to school tomorrow”.
It began:
“This is my manifesto.”
According to the Crown, the email described experiences of bullying and humiliation by teachers, alleged unfair treatment by police and feelings of being treated as a second-class citizen because the writer was Chinese.
The sender then claimed preparations for an attack had begun the previous month and were complete.
The manifesto went on to describe proposed attacks against Waiuku College and Rutherford College, as well as plans to damage the Pukekohe and Te Atatū police stations and buildings at Parliament.
3D-Printed Firearms and Explosives
Of particular concern to investigators were claims within the email that firearms had been manufactured using a 3D printer.
The sender also described creating ammunition and explosives for use in an attack and warned recipients not to assume the 3D-printed weapons were fake or would not function.
The email contained an even more disturbing threat: the sender said they wanted to kill more people than the Christchurch mosque terrorist, who murdered 51 people on 15 March 2019.
No such attack ultimately occurred.
But the prosecution case concerned not simply the language used in the manifesto, but the alleged preparations behind it and the weapons-related material subsequently forming part of the charges against Huo.
An Innocent Former Student Was Initially Implicated
The email purported to have been written by a female former Waiuku College student.
Police subsequently examined her electronic devices with her cooperation and established she had not sent it.
Investigators' inquiries then led them to Huo.
The case consequently involved not only serious threats against schools and public institutions, but an apparent attempt to attribute those threats to another person.
Local Schools at the Centre of the Threats
The involvement of Waiuku College gives the case particular significance for the Franklin community.
Schools must treat threats of mass violence seriously regardless of whether an attack ultimately occurs. A threat can trigger police operations, disruption to students and staff, heightened security and considerable anxiety among families.
The reference to 3D-printed firearms also raises a wider issue for law enforcement.
Digital manufacturing increasingly means that some components that once required specialised industrial equipment can potentially be produced privately. In this case, however, Huo has now been convicted following a criminal trial, including on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and explosives.
Guilty on All Charges
The verdict establishes Huo's criminal responsibility for the offences before the court.
That distinction is important. These are no longer merely allegations contained in a police investigation or prosecution case: a jury has heard the evidence and found him guilty on all 12 charges.
Huo is due to be sentenced in October.
The sentencing will determine the consequences for offences involving threats against children, teachers, police and public institutions — threats serious enough to involve firearms, explosives and preparations for attacks against multiple locations.
For Waiuku and the wider Franklin community, the most important fact is that the threatened attack never took place.
But the case demonstrates why threats against schools cannot simply be dismissed as words on a screen. Once threats are accompanied by detailed planning and access to weapons or explosives, the distinction between violent rhetoric and potential action becomes considerably more serious.
Source
RNZ — Man found guilty of threatening to kill people at two Auckland schools.
Independent reporting. Original context. Credited sources.