Letter by suspect called a mistake

New Zealanders fear it’s rally cry

In this June 14, 2019, file courtroom drawing, Brenton Tarrant, the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019 appears via video link at the Christchurch District Court, from the maximum security prison in Auckland where he's being held, Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand officials admitted Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019 that they made a mistake by allowing Tarrant to send a hand-written letter from his prison cell. (AP Photo/Stephanie McEwin, File)
In this June 14, 2019, file courtroom drawing, Brenton Tarrant, the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques on March 15, 2019 appears via video link at the Christchurch District Court, from the maximum security prison in Auckland where he's being held, Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand officials admitted Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019 that they made a mistake by allowing Tarrant to send a hand-written letter from his prison cell. (AP Photo/Stephanie McEwin, File)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- New Zealand officials said Wednesday that they made a mistake by allowing the man accused of killing 51 people at two Christchurch mosques to send a handwritten letter from his prison cell.

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

The letter appears to be written in pencil on a small notepad and is addressed to "Alan" in Russia. 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 in a statement that he didn't believe the prison system should have allowed Tarrant to send the letter.

"I have made myself clear that this cannot happen again," Davis said.

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

In the letter, dated July 4, Tarrant thanks "Alan" for postage stamps he apparently sent, saying they're the only two pieces of color in an otherwise gray cell and adds that he'll have to hide them from the guards.

Tarrant cites Plato and other philosophers and writers as inspiration for his views, and says he "cannot go into any great detail about regrets or feelings as the guards will confiscate my letter if I do" and use it as evidence.

Opposition spokesman David Bennett said Davis needed to demand immediate answers as to how an inflammatory letter could be sent from inside a maximum security prison.

"This man is accused of carrying out one of the most heinous crimes in New Zealand history," Bennett said in a statement. "New Zealanders will be horrified that Corrections allowed him to send a letter which includes a call to action and has subsequently been posted online."

The Corrections Department, which oversees prisons, said the law allows a prison director to withhold a prisoner's mail only in a "very limited" range of circumstances.

"On review, we acknowledge that this letter should have been withheld," the department said in a statement.

Before the March 15 shootings, Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, posted a 74-page manifesto on the website 8chan in which he outlined his beliefs that immigrants were invaders who would replace the white race.

8chan, seen as a more radical offshoot of 4chan, was effectively knocked offline this month after two companies cut off vital technical services in response to claims that the gunman who killed 22 people at a Walmart in El Paso posted an anti-Hispanic screed on the site just before the Aug. 3 killings.

Like the Texas gunman, a Norwegian man suspected of killing his stepsister and then storming an Oslo mosque with guns this month is also believed to have found inspiration in Tarrant's actions.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has vowed never to utter Tarrant's name in order to deny him the publicity she says he craves, making Tarrant's letter even more of an embarrassment for the government.

Tarrant has pleaded innocent to terrorism, murder and attempted murder charges after the mosque attacks. He remains in jail. His trial has been scheduled for May, but may be delayed by several weeks to avoid beginning during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

A Section on 08/15/2019

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