A South Australian magistrate has urged the community not to be "blind to ideological hatred and violence" while sentencing a man for possessing the video and manifesto of Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant.
Aidhan Kenneth Cooling, 28, was given a two-month and 24-day fully suspended sentence for possessing the extremist material at his home in the Riverland town of Loxton.
"The video footage is a real film of real people being murdered," Magistrate John Wells said.
"It is a real demonstration of the extremes of hatred.
"It shows what can happen when fixated ignorance, irrationality, xenophobia and violent hate are allowed to fester and go unchallenged.
"Accessing this footage and watching this footage is inherently damaging – treating it as entertainment diminishes the acute seriousness of the murders."
Mr Wells said the hatred that fuelled Tarrant still existed today.
"Last week, a group of men who appear to be neo-Nazis were giving Nazi or fascist salutes in front of the Adelaide Holocaust Museum," he said.
"We must not be blind to ideological hatred and violence.
"Hatred is real, hatred is not conceptual — there is an ongoing, broader context to people possessing footage of race-based murder.
"General deterrence is very important. I must send a strong message to the community that possessing extremist material is serious and cannot be tolerated."
Magistrate Wells said Cooling was not to be blamed for the actions of others and would only be sentenced on the grounds he possessed the video and manifesto.
Nazi books, photos and memes
Police attended Cooling's home to conduct a firearms audit in August 2021 before noticing books about Adolf Hitler on a shelf.
Cooling admitted to police he had watched the Christchurch terror attack — where Tarrant shot dead 51 people at two mosques — and had read his manifesto.
"A search of your computer revealed Nazi, anti-Semitic and white supremacist photographs and memes – it is largely immature and somewhat pathetic," Mr Wells said.
He was not charged in relation to that material.
Magistrate Wells said Cooling was not a violent man, had now disavowed his former racist views and had apologised for his actions.
He accepted that Cooling — who had a keen interest in politics and philosophy — had a "curiosity" in the Nazi memorabilia.
The court previously heard that the multicultural community of Loxton had condemned his views.
