Brenton Tarrant, whose Facebook page streamed a graphic and extremely disturbing live video showing him gunning down people praying in a Christchurch mosque, posted links to a rambling “manifesto” on Twitter that he dubbed “The Great Replacement.”
It’s basically a grievance document that lays out Tarrant’s twisted beliefs that mass murder is justified by immigration and European birthrates. In one especially bizarre section, the gunman presents a list of questions that he assumes people will want to know (why he did it, who influenced him, and so on). He then answers the questions in the lengthy document. Overall, he’s motivated by a perception of white victimhood that he believes justifies violence.
“We must crush immigration and deport those invaders already living on our soil,” he wrote. “It is not just a matter of our prosperity, but the very survival of our people.”
In it, he says he received the blessing from a group called the “reborn Knights Templar” (after the Christian soldiers during the Crusades) and indicates he was inspired by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who also wrote a manifesto that talked about a reborn Knights Templar, although prosecutors thought Breivik made it up to inspire others. You can read more about Breivik and the so-called reborn Knights Templar here.
The gunman flashed a white power sign in his first court appearance.
GettyBrenton Tarrant in court.
You can see a summary of the manifesto’s core points below, along with a few screenshots of excerpts. Heavy is choosing not to run the full manifesto because of the horrific nature of the mass shooting. Authorities now say that 50 people were shot and killed at two mosques, and another 20 people were wounded. The gunman’s live video shows him repeatedly shooting helpless people, and his Twitter page contained photos of weapons with the names of other mass shooters on them. The gunman states in his manifesto that he believes whites are facing “genocide” and admits that he acted in part because of race. He also brings up some famous names, including Donald Trump, Candace Owens, Michael Jackson, and Madonna.
In addition, a person who appeared to be the same gunman also posted a link to the live video and manifesto in a chat thread called 8chan, which is described by The New York Times as “an online forum known for extremist right-wing discussion.” The user wrote, “Well lads, it’s time to stop sh*tposting and time to make a real life effort post. I will carry out and attack against the invaders, and will even live stream the attack via facebook.”
Various contributors to the extremely disturbing chat thread then cheered the writer on, with some posting Nazi symbols. “Best of luck Brenton Tarrant,” wrote one. “Brenton Tarrant is a f*cking hero” wrote another, as they watched it unfold live, sharing screenshots.
One of the first victims to be identified is Daoud Nabi; his son told NBC News that his dad heroically died while trying to shield another person. You can read a tribute to him here. You can see a roundup of tributes to all of the victims here as their names are released.
Here’s what you need to know:
Brenton Tarrant Explains His Background
Part of the Brenton Tarrant manifesto.
The end of the manifesto proclaims, “Europa arises.” It also contains the bizarre question-and-answer section that reads like an interview. Who is he? The manifesto poses the question he knew many would wonder.
“Just a ordinary white man, 28 years old,” the manifesto explains. “Born in Australia to a working class, low income family. My parents are of Scottish, Irish and English stock. I had a regular childhood, without any great issues. I had little interest in education during my schooling, barely achieving a passing grade.” He claimed he invested in “bitconnect,” used the money to travel, and added, “I am just a regular white man, from a regular family. Who decided to take a stand to ensure a future for my people.”
The prime minister has called the mosque gunman an extremist right-wing terrorist and revealed he’s an Australian citizen.
The Shooter Is Obsessed With Birthrates
The top of the manifesto contains this drawing.
The manifesto is basically a lengthy rant of supposed racial grievance. One thing that really upsets the killer: Birthrates.
“It’s the birthrates. It’s the birthrates. It’s the birthrates. If there is one thing I want you to remember from these writings, its that the birthrates must change,” he writes. “Even if we were to deport all Non-Europeans from our lands tomorrow, the European people would still be spiraling into decay and eventual death.”
The manifesto also rants about “mass immigration” in juxtaposition to European birthrates. He calls it a “crisis of mass immigration and sub-replacement fertility” and calls that “an assault on the European people.”
Tarrant’s Manifesto Threatens Some Prominent People
TwitterA photo from the gunman’s Twitter page.
In another spot, the manifesto rants about killing prominent politicians: “KILL ANGELA MERKEL, KILL ERDOGAN, KILL SADIQ KHAN.” He urges people to kill “high profile enemies,” saying that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, “the mother of all things anti-white and anti-germanic, is top of the list.”
Asked why he is resorting to violence, he explained, “There is no nation in the world that wasn’t founded by, or maintained by, the use of force. Force is power. History is the history of power. Violence is power and violence is the reality of history. Wake up.”
The Australian citizen said that “Australian (sic) is a European colony, particularly of British stock and thereby an extension of Europe.” He said he blamed immigrants and capitalists and added, “I blame both, and plan to deal with both.”
On the Reason He Attacked Muslims
A brief section from the lengthy manifesto.
The shooter makes it clear. He intended to attack Muslims.
The manifesto refers to Turks as “roaches” and orders them to “flee to your own lands, while you still have the chance.” He claimed that European men “are to blame. Weak men have created this situation and strong men are needed to fix it.”
As to why he attacked Muslims, he wrote, “They are the most despised group of invaders in the West, attacking them receives the greatest level of support.” He ranted about climate change, saying that by killing “the invaders” he could “kill the overpopulation and by doing so save the environment.”
On Conservatism
Screenshot of the Tarrant video
Part of his manifesto contains a passage headlined “to conservatives.”
“Conservatism is dead. Thank God. Now let us bury it and move on to something of worth,” he wrote. He criticized conservatives for conserving nothing. “The natural environment is industrialized, pulverized and commoditized,” he wrote. “Western culture is trivialized, pupled and blended into a smear of meaningless nothing.”
Another section was headlined “to Christians.” He wrote, “Let our lives be stronger than death to fight against the enemies of the Christian people.”
On Antifa
The shooter aims through a door into another room
Another passage was headlined “to Antifa/Marxists/Communists.” He explained, “I do not want to convert you…I want you in my sights. I want your neck under my boot.”
On Celebrity Culture
The manifesto trashes “suicidal, nihilistic and degenerate pop icons produced from a dead culture,” mentioning Michael Jackson, Madonna, Kurt Cobain, and Freddie Mercury.
The Killer’s ‘Green Nationalism’
TwitterA screenshot from Brenton Tarrant’s now-suspended Twitter page.
Perhaps bizarrely, the gunman’s manifesto combines environmentalism with racism. He considers himself an “eco-fascist.”
When He Became Radicalized
Brenton Tarrant Twitter retweet
The manifesto said there was a period of time that “dramatically changed my views,” saying it was from April to May 2017. He felt that a “series of events…revealed the truth of the Wests (sic) current situation.” He decided at that time that a “violent, revolutionary solution” was needed.
Tarrant said he was traveling as a tourist in Western Europe to France, Spain, Portugal and other countries when there was a “terror attack in Stockholm” on April 7, 2018. The difference was “Ebba Akerlund. Young, innocent and dead Ebba,” he wrote.
The next pivotal moment was the 2017 French General election. He described the candidates as “a globalist, capitalist, egalitarian… a milquetoast, feckless, civic nationalist,” and so on. He traveled to French towns and decided “for every French man or woman there was double the number of invaders.”
Whether He Belongs to a Group
The gunman approaches the mosque front door.
He said he was “not a direct member of any organization or group, though I have donated to many nationalist groups and have interacted with many more.”
He said “no group ordered my attack. I make the decision myself. Though I did contact the reborn Knights Templar for a blessing in support of the attack, which was given.”
He said he expects to be “forgotten quickly. Which I do not mind. After all I am a private and mostly introverted person.”
On Planning the Attack
The gunman gets his weaponry from his car.
Tarrant said he had planned the attack for two years and had chosen Christchurch three months before. He said he chose firearms for the attack because he believed it would mobilize the “left wing” in the United States to “abolish the second amendment,” which would in turn upset the “right wing” and fracture the U.S. “along cultural and racial lines.”
He said that he originally didn’t plan to pick New Zealand. But he decided it was a “target rich of an environment.” Tarrant later visited the mosques in Christchurch and Linwood and chose those.
He said, “It is a terrorist attack” and admitted that “there was a racial component to the attack.”
On Whether He Likes Donald Trump & Candace Owens
A picture on Brenton Tarrant’s now deleted Twitter page.
He asked himself “were/are you a supporter of Donald Trump?” The manifesto gives this answer: “As a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure. As a policy maker and leader? Dear god no.”
He said he supported Brexit “though not for an official policy made.” He researched and developed his beliefs through the Internet.
Of Owens, he said, “Yes, the person that has influenced me above all was Candace Owens. Each time she spoke I was stunned by her insights and her own views helped push me further and further into the belief of violence over meekness. Though I will have to disavow some of her beliefs, the extreme actions she calls for are too much, even for my tastes.”
Owens responded:
To be clear:
We played the “Candace is Hitler” game.
We played the “Candace is anti-rape victims” game.
If the media attempts this “Candace inspired a mosque shooting in New Zealand” bit—they better all lawyer the f*ck up.
I will go full Covington Catholic lawsuit.
Try me.
She also wrote: “LOL! ? FACT: I’ve never created any content espousing my views on the 2nd Amendment or Islam. The Left pretending I inspired a mosque massacre in…New Zealand because I believe black America can do it without government hand outs is the reachiest reach of all reaches!! LOL!”
He said that “Spyro the dragon 3 taught me ethno-nationalism. Fortnite trained me to be a killer and to floss on the corpses of my enemies.”