An Australian says he downloaded footage of the Christchurch terror attack by mistake.
Bennett Russell Maynard-Brown, 32, appeared at the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday (local time) facing charges for allegedly possessing the extremist content.
Maynard-Brown is accused of downloading the video on February 16, 2021 at an address in the suburb of Gilles Plains.
During his hearing, his lawyer asked for an adjournment and he was granted bail.
When questioned by reporters afterwards, Maynard-Brown denied being an extremist and claimed he recently became Muslim
"It was a mistake. I didn't even realise I had it," he said. "It was downloaded off of Facebook by accident.
"I converted in October last year, so I'm Muslim, so the complete opposite to the monster in that video.
"It's a complete misunderstanding."
He said it was "very wrong" of him to have the video.
He is due to reappear in court in August.
In March 2019, 51 people were killed and 49 injured at two central Christchurch mosques when Australian gunman Brenton Tarrant opened fire during Friday prayer.
Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder, 40 charges of attempted murder and one charge under the Terrorism Suppression Act in May 2020. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole in August last year.
New Zealand's Chief Censor David Shanks deemed footage of the attack, which was live-streamed on Facebook, as "objectionable" shortly afterwards.
Australia's State Government introduced laws making it illegal to produce, distribute or possess extremist content in 2017.
