Christchurch attack: The dark truth about New Zealand's white supremacists

Warning: This article contains content that may disturb some people.

Phil Arps' family says he's a good husband and father.

Some of his workers say he's a good boss.

But there's another side to Arps.

He's a white supremacist - and Newshub has obtained a video of him delivering a box containing a severed pig's head to the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch in 2016.

"White power," he can be heard saying in the video. "Don't go to a mosque often. Like I said, it should be molotovs."

In the Islamic faith, pork is considered unclean and eating it is prohibited.

In the video, Arps holds the pig's head and says: "Our Muslims gonna love this. See? You see that?" His delivery came complete with Nazi salutes at the door of the building.

Al Noor is one of the two Christchurch mosques attacked on March 15. Of the 51 killed, 43 people died after being shot there.

Newshub can reveal that one of those killed, Mohsin Al-Harbi, had also been a victim of Arps's hate. He opened the cardboard box left at the mosque door in 2016.

His wife Manal Dokhan said it hurt him.

"He was angry," she told Newshub. "Because this is strange. Why would a man put this in the Masjid?"  

'Masjid' is another word for mosque - which was collecting for Fiji cyclone victims at the time.

In another video, after his failed appeal against an offensive behaviour conviction, he refers to Muslims and says: "Bring on the cull! Get the f***ers out. The rules are changing. White power. White f***in' power. White power. F***in' oi."

He goes on to say: "It was deliberate - deliberate attack, deliberate offence against Muslims, were the Judge's words. He obviously knows me well."

Newshub found Arps' videos online, where they have been shared between white supremacists.

The material is very offensive, but Mohsin Al-Harbi's family, the Al Noor Mosque leadership and the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) all consented to Newshub showing the video.

FIANZ President Mustafa Farouk says it's in the public interest.

"The reason why I think it should be shown is we just want New Zealanders to understand there is this undercurrent of individuals who are trying to promote hate and division."

While there is no direct link with the alleged gunman, the Imam of Al Noor Mosque, Gamal Fouda, said it showed the rise of white supremacy and should have been a warning for authorities to look closely at Arps.

"I think the police should have actually looked at that man and followed chased him online on stuff to see if there is any group behind him."

Arps was brazen about his beliefs with the work van for his insulation business that he drove around Christchurch, showing the price $14.88 - which actually contains a code.

14 refers to a 14-word slogan penned by American white supremacist David Lane, while 88 stands for 'Heil Hitler' - H being the eighth letter of the alphabet.

But the most frightening warning signs from Arps were relatively easy to find on the web.

As part of Newshub's investigation into white supremacy, we spent a lot of time online, including going through Arps' account on the self- proclaimed free speech platform Gab.

Last year, linked to a page titled 'pigs heads for Muslims', he wrote the words: "I do what I can soon with live rounds", along with a winking emoji.

His hatred isn't reserved for Muslims only. He writes of Jews: "The truth will kill them, so will I."

Under the handle 'Anti-Semite' he writes: "John the Jew Key and Jewcinda are one of the same. I want them dead equally, it's wrong to discriminate."

Following the shootings, the Government is considering making 'hate crime' an offence, which Farouk supports.

"Going forward, we'd expect hate laws to be instituted so this sort of hate crime won't be tolerated."

But in a video posted after his court case, Arps actually boasted he couldn't be prosecuted for a hate crime.

"But I won. It was f***in' good. Like the Judge said: I beat a hate crime. Offensive behaviour. $800 fine plus court costs."

But after the mosque shootings, the dark side of Arps finally caught up with him. He was arrested and pleaded guilty to sharing the video of the massacre.

He asked an unknown person to add a 'kill count' to the video as people were shot, and to edit in crosshairs as though the viewer were looking through a rifle scope.

The 44-year-old has been in custody since his arrest. He wants home detention but the judge has ruled it out, indicating he will be jailed.

He will be sentenced next month.

Newshub.