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RNZ News
07-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
How are designated terrorist entities selected in New Zealand? Here's what you need to know
Stewart Rhodes, Enrique Tarrio, Joe Biggs and Zach Rehl, members of the far-right group the Proud Boys, rally outside the US Capitol following a news conference on 21 February 2025 in Washington, DC. The Proud Boys are no longer designated as a terrorist entity in New Zealand after being named such in 2022. Photo: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / AFP Explainer - Who are the terrorist groups listed under New Zealand law, and who decides who names them? With news last week that the American far-right group the Proud Boys had been removed from the terrorist entity list , there are questions about exactly how such a designation works. Here's what you need to know about how terrorist entities are designated in New Zealand. A designated terrorist entity decision is made by the government against groups or individuals known for violent actions. Once an entity is on the list, it greatly restricts their financial activities, participation and efforts to recruit new members. John Battersby is a specialist on terrorism and counter-terrorism and a teaching fellow in the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at Massey University. Entities can end up on the list "broadly speaking, if an individual or group is active in perpetrating terrorist acts, and are internationally recognised as doing so," he said. This includes groups designated by the United Nations, "as well as any which the NZ prime minister (acting on advice) has 'good cause to suspect' have participated in committing a terrorist act". There are basically two kinds of terrorist entities - ones that are listed by the United Nations which New Zealand is obliged to include, and ones that New Zealand has designated on its own. New Zealand has international counterterrorism obligations under a number of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions. These came after the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 was passed, following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. That act established a legal framework for the suppression of terrorism. Those on the UN list also on New Zealand's list include the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh), Al-Qaida, the Taliban and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities. The second set of entities designated in New Zealand are associated with UN Security Council Resolution 1373 which obliges us to outlaw the financing of, participation in and recruitment to terrorist entities. The UN's resolution leaves it to member states to identify the entities against which they should act. The New Zealand-designated group includes groups such as the Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Real Irish Republican Army and The Shining Path. The only individual listed is the convicted Christchurch mosque shooter. "Designating the offender is an important demonstration of New Zealand's condemnation of terrorism and violent extremism in all forms," former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in making that call in 2020 . A policeman patrols at Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on March 23, 2019, eight days after a terrorist attack claimed the lives of 50 people. Photo: AFP Once a group is on the list, it means it freezes their assets in New Zealand and it's illegal to deal with the entity's property or provide such an entity with property, financial or related services. It is also an offence to knowingly recruit for a group on the list, or participate in a group for the purpose of enhancing its ability to carry out a terrorist act, knowing, or being reckless as to whether the group is a designated entity. Action can be taken against designated entities' property, and Customs can seize and detain goods or cash they have "good cause" to suspect are tied to designated entities. However, "simple membership of a designated entity is not an offence," police say. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Photo: Screenshot Ultimately, the prime minister has the power. "The Prime Minister may designate an entity as a terrorist entity under this section if the Prime Minister believes on reasonable grounds that the entity has knowingly carried out, or has knowingly participated in the carrying out of, one or more terrorist acts," the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 says. However, there's a lot of support and intelligence given before making that call. A Terrorist Designation Working Group chaired by New Zealand Police does the work of considering entities. It includes officials from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the National Assessments Bureau, the New Zealand Defence Force, Crown Law, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service. The working group then refers their information to the National Security Board, who make a determination whether or not to proceed with forwarding a recommendation to the prime minister. The prime minister also has to consult the Attorney-General before making the designation. Letters of recommendation are then given to the Commissioner of Police to be acted upon. "No specific factors are identified for the Prime Minister's consideration when exercising his discretion," police say. For example, in November Prime Minister Christopher Luxon designated the armed and political group Hezbollah a terrorist entity . "For any organisation [to be designated] ... we have to have evidence and we go through a number of tests under our legislation, that that organisation has knowingly undertaken terrorist activity," Luxon said then. "It's a standard process." Any entity on the list or a third party can also apply to the prime minister to make a case to get the designation revoked. Of course, whether or not that happens is up to the government to decide. The designations on the list are made for a period of three years, and can simply expire if not renewed. Judicial reviews of the decisions are also possible, police say. Leaders of the Proud Boys, a right-wing pro-Trump group, Enrique Tarrio (right) and Joe Biggs (left) embrace each other as the Proud boys members gather with their allies in a rally called "End Domestic Terrorism" against Antifa in Portland, Oregon on 26 September, 2020. Photo: AFP / John Rudoff / Anadolu Agency The government's New Zealand Gazette notification on the Proud Boys delisting is extremely brief - it simply says their designation expired on 19 June, and any person who deals with the property of the group cannot be prosecuted under the Terrorism Suppression Act. Ardern designated the Proud Boys and another known white supremacist group, The Base, in June 2022. The Base designation was renewed in June and remains on the terrorist entity list, but the Proud Boys no longer do. Byron Clark, a researcher into right-wing extremist groups , pointed out that US President Donald Trump pardoned the group's leader Enrique Tarrio earlier this year along with many others involved in the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot. "They operate as an unofficial, but tacitly acknowledged, militant wing of Trump's Make America Great Again movement, and I think that makes it politically more difficult to designate them terrorists now that that movement holds power in the United States." Battersby agreed the changing political situation in the US may have played part in the expiration. "If 'the good cause to suspect' case against the Proud Boys and The Base was founded on convictions following the 2021 US Capitol Hill riot, the presidential pardons - from a legal perspective - could remove those grounds." The prime minister's office told Stuff journalist Paula Penfold, who has extensively investigated the Proud Boys, that the group "remain on the radar ... and if any new information comes to hand, they will consider it." There is also a separate terror watch list of individuals the New Zealand Security and Intelligence Service keeps. In the past that list has been reported to be around 30 to 40 individuals. "Most people on watchlists turn out to be incapable or unwilling to do any real damage," Battersby said, but noted "it's excellent that police and the NZSIS pay attention to suspect individuals, this is valuable and necessary work." Ahamed Samsudeen took a knife from a supermarket shelf and stabbed six people in 2021. Photo: Supplied "New Zealand isn't safe - we have never been safe," Battersby said. "We have been fortunate in that we are politically insignificant globally - so no international terrorist group will waste any time here, and that anyone in New Zealand who has actually wanted to undertake acts of political violence has been mostly isolated and alone, largely unsuccessful inspiring any successive action." "Watchlists are one tool - they will catch the careless, lazy and unlucky; it is much more difficult to intercept a security conscious, careful planner (or group) which keep their heads down, or who play along legally (as the mosque shooter did) looking to exploit vulnerabilities which frankly exist everywhere." Battersby noted that both the Christchurch mosque shooter and Ahamed Samsudeen , who attacked shoppers at Auckland's LynnMall in 2021, were lone actors. "These people represent singular acts, so designation - in my opinion, is a largely unproductive exercise." Samsudeen had been under scrutiny for some time yet was still able to pull off his attack, while the mosque shooter "demonstrated what is possible when the risk is not identified," he said. "I think government terrorist group lists have some significant limitations," Clark said. "The Christchurch terrorist communicated extensively with far-right groups around the world, and even supported some financially, but wasn't formally a member of any, and the LynnMall terrorist was Isis-inspired but not actually a member of the organisation." Clark said it is still important that groups of concern in New Zealand continue to be monitored. "I do think there needs to be more scrutiny on far-right and Christian nationalist groups, the recent demonstrations by Destiny Church members targeting numerous minority groups demonstrate the threat they pose to social cohesion." Clark said that that last year's defunding of research into violent extremism research being done at the He Whenua Taurikura research centre in Wellington was also troubling. "The defunding of He Whenua Taurikura means we've lost the other side of counter terrorism, which is researching these groups and their beliefs in order to have a more informed public, and greater awareness of where potential threats could come from. Less of that work is being done now, and I don't think adding more groups to terrorist designation lists could make up for that loss." Still, New Zealand remains less vulnerable to terrorism than many places, Battersby said. "It is important to keep all of this in perspective, however - terrorists or violent extremists pose a risk, but a very small one in statistical terms when you consider something like our road toll. The most dangerous thing you will do today is drive to work, and drive home again - you are vastly more likely to be killed doing that, than you ever will be by a terrorist in New Zealand." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump's pardon attorney considers full clemency for Oath Keepers and founder Stewart Rhodes over Jan. 6 crimes
The man Donald Trump appointed to review pardon requests at the Department of Justice is already reviewing full clemency for Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia group who was convicted of treason-related charges in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin recently met with lawyer Peter Ticktin, who delivered 11 pardon applications — including one for Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in prison in connection with the Capitol assault. Hours after taking office, Trump commuted his sentence, along with the sentences of 13 other Capitol rioters, including Oath Keepers and Proud Boys members who were similarly convicted. Rhodes was released from prison hours later. Martin, a prominent 'Stop the Steal' activist who defended Jan. 6 defendants, was briefly Trump's top prosecutor in Washington, D.C., tasked with running the office that handled those prosecutions. Trump recently withdrew his name for consideration for the role and instead installed him as the pardon chief and head of the Justice Department's 'Weaponization Working Group.' According to Politico, the renewed effort to fully pardon Rhodes and other Jan. 6 offenders was arranged by Ticktin and Treniss Evans, who help run the right-wing nonprofit legal group American Rights Alliance. Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Dominic Pezzola and Zachary Rehl are also seeking full pardons through Ticktin and Evans. 'I know Ed Martin and I felt it was important to bring these particular applications to his attention,' Ticktin told Politico, which first reported the pardon requests. 'I listened! Cuz he's wise,' Martin said about the meeting. The Independent has requested comment from Ticktin and the White House. A fresh round of pardon requests from defendants charged with the most serious crimes surrounding the attack will now head to White House pardon czar Alice Johnson. Trump is meanwhile expected to issue pardons for reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud and sentenced to several years in prison. The president also recently pardoned Paul Walczak, who pleaded guilty to tax crimes. The pardon was issued one month after Walczak's mother attended a Mar-a-Lago fundraising dinner charging $1 million per person. The president has pardoned nearly 1,600 defendants charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol. Rhodes and his allies spent weeks discussing a violent response to the 2020 election on encrypted messaging apps, then organized a weapons and supply cache at a nearby hotel before joining the mob. After several members breached the Capitol, shouting 'this is our f*****g house' and 'we took the f*****g Capitol,' Rhodes hailed them as 'patriots.' He told an ally that his only regret that day was that the group wasn't armed. Rhodes did not enter the building. Days after Jan. 6, Rhodes typed a message intended for then-President Trump, calling on him to 'save the republic' or 'die in prison.' That message was ultimately never delivered, but it echoed another message published on the Oath Keepers website weeks earlier, urging Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and deputize Rhodes and the Oath Keepers to take up arms. 'It's better to wage it with you as Commander-in-Chief than to have you comply with a fraudulent election, leave office, and leave the White House in the hands of illegitimate usurpers and Chinese puppets,' Rhodes wrote at the time. He followed up with another message demanding that Trump deliver a 'crushing blow' to his enemies 'while they sleep, wrapped in their arrogance.' Rhodes also instructed his allies to 'get gear squared away and ready to fight,' adding that 'Trump has one last chance right now to stand but he will need us and our rifles too.' More than 1,000 Jan. 6 defendants pleaded guilty. More than 200 people were found guilty at trial — including 10 defendants like Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Judges who presided over Jan. 6 cases have barely hidden their contempt for Trump's sweeping pardons for virtually every member of the mob — and have issued stark warnings against attempts to rewrite the history of the attack. Last year, the federal judge who presided over Rhodes's case said the prospect of a pardon for his crimes 'is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country.' 'You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country and its democracy and the very fabric of this country,' District Judge Amit Mehta told Rhodes during his sentencing hearing in 2023. 'You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.' District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who presided over Trump's federal election interference case, wrote that Trump's pardons 'cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake.'
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Trump's pardon chief reveals who could get clemency next after Todd and Julie Chrisley: Live updates
Donald Trump 's new pardon chief Ed Martin had a busy first few days on the job helping the president issue clemency for individuals in high profile convictions. Martin personally reviewed a pardon application for Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and is considering wiping clean the record of this controversial figure, according to multiple reports. Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for helping organize the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack. He was sentenced top 18 years in prison. Trump said on Tuesday he would pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were sentenced in 2022 for submitting false documents in a conspiracy to defraud banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. The Justice Department pardon attorney's first recommendation was successful on Monday when the president said he would pardon former Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of corruption charges and set to start his 10-year sentence this week. Peter Ticktin, a lawyer and former classmate of Trump's at the New York Military Academy, delivered 11 pardon applications to Martin last Thursday – including the one for Rhodes.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Trump's new pardon attorney discussed pardoning final Jan. 6 defendants — including Oath Keepers' Stewart Rhodes, lawyer says
New Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin has discussed pardon applications for some of the only remaining Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants who weren't given full clemency by President Trump, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, a lawyer told CBS News. Peter Ticktin, an attorney working to secure full pardons for a number of Jan. 6 defendants, told CBS News he met with Martin last week to discuss pardon requests for Rhodes and 10 others. Martin was in his first full week in his new job as pardon attorney after Mr. Trump withdrew his nomination to serve as U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. Martin posted photos of his meeting with Ticktin on X last week, saying Ticktin had "recommendations for pardons" and "I listened." CBS News has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. Ticktin said that in addition to a potential pardon for Rhodes, pardon applications were discussed for Proud Boys Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. Ticktin also mentioned applications for Dan Wilson and Elias Costianes, two other Jan 6 defendants who still face prison sentences due to firearm charges unrelated to the Capitol riot. Politico was first to report on Ticktin's conversation about Rhodes. Mr. Trump issued pardons to almost everybody convicted over the Jan. 6 riot on the first day of his second term, and he directed any pending charges to be dropped. However, a group of 14 current and former members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers — including Rhodes — were only given commutations that allowed them to leave prison but left their criminal convictions in place. Many of those defendants were found guilty of more serious charges, like conspiring to use force to resist the transfer of power and seditious conspiracy. More than 1,500 people were charged as a result of their alleged conduct on Jan. 6, and at least 1,100 have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences, according to Justice Department data. More than 700 defendants completed their sentences or did not receive sentences of incarceration. More than 170 people were accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon, such as a fire extinguisher or bear spray, against police officers, prosecutors have said. Ticktin is working with Jan. 6 defendant Trenniss Evans, who was sentenced to 36 months of probation and 20 days of prison time for his actions on Jan. 6. He pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building in 2022. Evans, who is CEO of the conservative nonprofit American Rights Alliance, told CBS News his expectation is that the 11 pardon applications submitted to Martin will go through the standard review process. He said his group had so far received no assurances from Martin or the Justice Department on whether the pardons will be granted. "The only assurances that we have is that we have people that are in the Justice Department now and in the proper places in the administration that are going to give a realistic and fair review to these cases because of the nauseating stance that the previous administration took against individuals related to January 6," Evans told CBS News. The next step in the pardon process, Ticktin said, is for Martin to consult with Alice Johnson, Mr. Trump's "pardon czar," who was granted clemency in Mr. Trump's first term after more than two decades of prison time for a nonviolent drug offense. "She's got a pretty important position at this point. I mean, she's the one that has to decide these things," Ticktin told CBS News. "Pardons need to be given out, but at the same time, none should be given out, you know, indiscriminately." Ticktin said he is working with Mark McCloskey, the man who infamously pointed a firearm at Black Lives Matter protestors back in 2020, to file civil suits against the government for their treatment of Jan. 6 defendants. "These are good American citizens, the kind of people that most people would enjoy being with, except that they were used as pawns here and incarcerated the way they were," Ticktin told CBS News. How Trump has used his pardon power So far in his second term, Mr. Trump has pardoned Democratic former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted on public corruption charges related to attempts to sell former President Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat, and Ross Ulbricht, who was sent to life in prison for his role in creating and operating the darknet market Silk Road. On Monday, Trump said he was pardoning Scott Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted of making several businessmen sworn law enforcement officers in exchange for cash bribes. The Constitution gives presidents virtually limitless power to pardon people for federal crimes. Many presidents have drawn controversy for how they've used this power: Mr. Trump issued pardons in his first term to his former campaign chair Paul Manafort and his son-in-law's father Charles Kushner, while Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter and Bill Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich. But legal experts say Mr. Trump's clemency for Jan. 6 rioters — including people convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers — has been particularly broad, especially after Mr. Trump previously said he planned on offering "case-by-case" pardons to riot defendants. Ticktin said that he also spoke to Martin about former Arkansas State Senator Jonathan Woods, who was sentenced in 2018 to more than 18 years in prison for a bribery scheme. Woods' case was prosecuted in part by former special counsel Jack Smith when he led the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section between 2010 and 2015, before prosecuting Mr. Trump. In addition to the 11 pardon applications submitted last week, Evans said his group is working to "seek justice" for Tina Peters, a former Mesa County, Colorado, clerk who was sentenced to over eight years in prison on state charges. Peters was convicted of giving a man affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell — a prominent promoter of false claims that voting machines were manipulated in the 2020 election — access to county election systems. Jurors found Peters guilty of three counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failing to comply with Colorado's Secretary of State. Since her charges were in state court, Mr. Trump is unable to pardon her.
