AT 9.30 p.m. on 21 December 2016, gay rights zealot Jaden Duong parked a hired van loaded with four 9kg gas tanks in front of the Australian Christian Lobby headquarters in Canberra and ignited this less-than-Oklahoma – but by no means toyish – bomb with a lighter. The ensuing explosion caused $100,000 damage to the building. The 35 year-old Duong survived the blast with serious burns, then staggered 4.5 kilometres to Canberra Hospital where he was interviewed by police for seven or eight minutes. After he was transferred to Sydney’s Concord Hospital, staff there quoted him in treatment notes saying he targeted the ACL because he was “not a huge fan.” He had given detectives in Canberra the same explanation – “because I dislike the Australian Christian Lobby” – and told medicos on arrival that he drove the van “up to a church.”
Duong’s confession, in extremis – with accompanying admissions of hatred for religion in general and Christian sexual ethics in particular – added up to undeniable proof of a malicious hate crime. It was what the Americans call a slam-dunk. But these facts only became public in September 2017 when Duong – inexplicably on bail – pled not guilty on grounds of insanity to arson and property damage in the ACT Magistrates Court. There the police record of interview, such as it was, had to be tendered. It was during those proceedings, sadly, that Duong succeeded in committing suicide. His lawyer, Peter Woodhouse, told journalists this was “further evidence” that Duong’s crime had “always been a mental-health issue and nothing more than that.” On the contrary, it proved he was competent enough to kill himself without bombing the ACL.
Homosexual Duong lived for several years in San Francisco. In 2014, he was a campaign volunteer for city politico, David Chiu. A careerist within the Democratic Party machine, Chiu was (and is) an anti-Church extremist. Two years before the ACL bombing, he co-authored as a state assemblyman the Reproductive FACT Act that was intended to force crisis pregnancy centres run by Christians to post advertisements for abortion clinics in their offices. Thanks to Donald Trump – who appointed Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court in 2017 – the law was ruled unconstitutional in June 2018. It is important to note in passing that legislation that compels Christian service organisations to refer-on patients and clients to abortionists and “assisted suicide” killers is an ideological feature of laws enacted in Australia by Labor governments. Such laws not only incite violence but constitute it, per se. Duong’s appetite for Oswald-like loitering around a cause was not sated by placing himself and his IT expertise at the disposal of merely one far left California Democrat. He also volunteered for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. Like Chiu, she was a gay rights militant and a fanatical opponent of Christian liberty. Her policy of imposing sanctions on Red States that had passed laws protecting religious freedom garnered national attention in 2015.
From the outset, then, abundant evidence existed establishing that Duong’s crime was politically, religiously and ideologically motivated. If the oddball contestant in the Mr Gay Asia Pacific Alliance pageant hadn’t already admitted as much – which he certainly had – police would have come to that conclusion in less than an hour via LinkedIn and Google. On the morning of 22 December, however – scarcely several hours after the attack – ACT Police officially concluded “the actions of the individual were not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated” and were nothing more than a suicide attempt. The ABC reported this statement at 5.43 a.m. Then ACL managing director Lyle Shelton was understandably astonished.
Most people assumed the bombing was related somehow to the then raging debate about whether or not to legalise same-sex ‘marriage.’ Shelton reported to police “a number of death threats and threats of violence” over the course of that year. Protecting the gay lobby at that particular time – while gas-lighting the gas-bombed Christians – was always going to hold, though, because most journalists were thrilled by the narrative. By 2 p.m. a chuffed Guardian was attacking Shelton for his refusal to “to retract his claims a van explosion was targeted at the Australian Christian Lobby.” Those “claims,” of course, were absolutely true. In less than 24 hours, the victims were the baddies and the perpetrator the victim. In a Senate estimates inquiry in October 2017, Liberal senators Ian Macdonald and Eric Abetz did press then Australian Federal Police commissioner Andrew Colvin to explain the “bizarre” story line – finalised before Duong was even properly interviewed – but he argued the culprit’s motives had to be seen in “context.” Labor senator Louise Pratt, a member of the Parliament’s LGBTI group, said she found the questioning of the commissioner “on behalf of the ACL” to be “disturbing.” More so than a wannabe McVeigh.
As strategy, deceit on this scale is rational, albeit lamentable and dangerous. That’s because police and intelligence officials know their budgets and operations are now downstream from a left-wing culture that will not tolerate besmirchment, let alone indictment. Christians are easy targets: the media hates them and the state won’t protect them. Which bring us, inexorably, to the Wieambilla shootings of December 2022. The murder of two Queensland police officers and one civilian at the hands of three isolationists in the Western Downs locality shocked the nation. The killers – Gareth Train, Nathaniel Train and Stacey Train – had a pandemic-fuelled grudge against authorities, were involved in a strange domestic threesome, had come to the attention of police for serious reasons and were aficionados of several fantastical online cliques. This warlock’s brew – which must also have included the ego-atomising derangement attending the fraternal sharing of a woman – was more than enough to explain their actions. If additional Colvin “context” is needed, the monstrous and apocalyptic mania of governments “fighting covid” was Bundy Rum in the cauldron. Nor did it help that police commanders sent guileless slips of lasses into a scene from Deliverance. Enter the little-known Queensland Police Theology and Scripture Squad.
Evoking the sort of car crash that customarily delineates the constabulary’s vocational limitations, at a press conference earlier this month deputy commissioner Tracy Linford announced that after a seven week investigation Queensland police had determined the Trains were inspired to kill by… Christianity. “The Train family members prescribed (sic) to what we would call a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism,” she declared. “I’m not an expert in that but, in its basic interpretation, is the belief that Christ will return to the Earth for a thousand days, provide peace and prosperity – but it will be preceded by an era, or a period of time of tribulation and widespread destruction and suffering.”
Beginning testimony on a subject so grave with the words “I’m not an expert” is reason enough to downgrade contention to spitballing but let’s be magnanimous and assume that VicPol alumnus Linford meant years, not days. Premillennialism – a second-order theologoumenon evicted from orthodox catholicity by Augustinian amillennialism several centuries ago – never made homicide a requisite for standing tall at the eschaton. We call such ghouls neo-cons. The Guardian was chuffed (again) but pretending the formerly state-paid Trains were actuated by Christianity rather than a manic pareidolia is like arguing their obsession with vaccines made them epidemiologists. Calling them an “autonomous cell” at a time when being one was compulsory was just the red nose on a clownish attempt to use the peanut gallery to airbrush away a now discredited medical Stalinism from the coronial chronicle. The Trains were not Christians and their role-playing of Armageddon commandos killing for redemption proves that even they knew it.
Autonomous cell aka oddball family aka lone wolves.
Words and expressions mean whatever progressives mean them to mean, whenever it suits them to have that particular meaning.
A tour de force CL (and two new words for my vocabulary).
He “committed suicide”.
Interesting that the deputy commissioner is a former member of the politically compromised VicPol.
As for people waiting for the second coming, quite a few are isolationist, wanting to escape from the coming time of trouble that precedes it. They most certainly do not arm up for a war against the State. After anll, exactly turning the other cheek is it?
The Trains, like Doung, clearly had other motivations than the offical narratives. It is depressing that what happened is being used by political actors for their own ambitions and advancement. Because that is exactly what is going on.
After all, not exactly turning the other cheek.
If he wanted to make a political statement and kill people in the building then he chose a funny time to do it.
Attempted suicide seems to fit the evidence better than any other explanation
“then staggered 4.5 kilometres to Canberra Hospital”
Not sure he did anything of the sort. He was almost certainly given a lift, most likely by an accomplice.
I used to work around the corner from the ACL building – another bizarre factlet is that Dung, instead of staggering 4.5 kms, could have far more easily sought treatment at the John James Memorial hospital, located on the block next to the ACL building.
Great work CL, as always. I recall Duong was also in a relationship with a relatively senior public servant, possibly DFAT, who ditched him post haste?
Hang on, you can make a political statement simply by damaging the building. Moreover, if it was just attempted suicide, why was it attempted at the ACL and not at home?
The politicisation of the police and their willingness to lie for their political masters is an indication of how far we have descended into tyranny in this country.
Great journalism C.L.
I agree; it is great journalism
A terrific read, even if disheartening
Trampis, still trying to use the Penny Wong tactic of appealing to some kind of fake moral authority while gaslighting everyone at the same time. You’ve been caught out here so many time spouting utter rubbish, why would you think anyone would take a single one of your comments with anything more than a grain of salt? Have you taken down your smearing of Seymour Hersh yet?
Indeed. I don’t think Duong’s political pedigree has been so well laid out as here, nor the malfeasance of the police, etc.
CL – when I heard the QLD Police deputy commissioner Tracy Linford on the radio about the Trains being inspired by Christianity, I wondered if some of the diaries and social media posts would be made public so we could see their writings.
Thanks for alerting us to the VicPol background. There appears to be a podcast of Linford talking about being at the scene of the 1988 Walsh St police shootings and bringing priest Kevin O’Donnell to justice. O’Donnell was the offender in the case of the daughters of Chrissie and Anthony Foster (although someone told me a few years ago O’Donnell was homosexual and, as he was dying, maintained his innocence about abusing the Foster girls).
I read Chrissie Foster’s Book Hell on the Way to Heaven (written with ABC journalist Paul Kennedy who I think as a young cadet journalist on a suburban newspaper first reported on O’Donnell’s offending) and note a chapter on her lawyer’s visit to the school hall. She says the lawyer was looking at every building – the Church, presbytery, classrooms, hall – looking for “clues” to point to liability since it had been determined that the Church could not be sued as an entity. Foster says the lawyer was asking questions – Who was he going to sue? Where were the teachers? Who owned the property – “he was simply strolling around, constructing his case from the ground up”. He was looking for a sign/plaque attributing ownership to someone. She goes on to state the lawyer wanted to know every interior detail – the colour of the walls, how many doors, the position of the handles etc etc. Doors seem to feature prominently in some of the ABC Revelations TV programs.
This reminded me of what Witness J’s lawyer spokesperson said on ABC at the time the RC redacted reports were released in May 2020 – the “findings” would prove the Church’s liability (breach of duty) which would assist complainants’ civil claims progress through the Courts. She said she “wants the Church to contribute funds to contribute to mental health services, accommodation support, and drug and alcohol services. The cost on tax payers has been enormous in terms of looking after people the Church has abandoned”. I wonder if tax payers have been funding the Ballarat Survivor Group? LoudFence Inc was awarded a $10,000 community grant from Australia Post last year.
Also interesting to read in C Foster’s book was how Fiona Patten (c0-founder of the Eros Foundation, special guest at Sexpo conferences, leader of Sex Party and Reason Party) and her partner facilitated the Fosters appearance on 60 Minutes in 2002. The Fosters were in disguise when interviewed by Richard Carlton. In her 2018 book, Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Roll, Patten claims that in publishing her 2000 booklet “Hypocrites”, listing alleged paedophile priests, she was the first public advocate to call for a royal commission into CSA in religious institutions. She says 12 years later when J Gillard announced the RC, she felt some vindication and a degree of satisfaction.
Other people who have been commended in the media (and by some politicians) for triggering the Royal Commission include Newcastle journalist Joanne McCarthy (who resigned from the Newcastle Herald the weekend before the Pell High Court Judgment) and retired detective Peter Fox (who appeared on the ABC Lateline programs).
“It was during those proceedings, sadly, that Duong succeeded in committing suicide.”
I wonder who, exactly, feels sad about this?
Did the Dpt. Commissioner explain why the police spent two whole weeks blatantly lying to the public about what the cops were doing there in the first place and the entire situation? (Recall that they originally tried to quickly blame “Christianity” too – but walked it back after a small but pointed outcry). They lied about the reason for the shootout, lied about the fact they they’d actually been attempting to perform an arrest for weeks, lied about the fact that they’d been in contact with the Trains, that the Trains had told them to stay away from the property, and lied about the police’s multiple visits to the property.
They manufactured a story about the oh-so-innocent “welfare check” for two weeks, an obvious CYA PR exercise and ugly abuse of the state-media apparatus to build outrage to cover the truth of the story – that the whole thing was obviously a sneaky snooping / arrest tactic that had gone badly wrong.
Did she explain why when that all came out, once they were forced to admit all of it that the police and the entire story almost completely disappeared for seven weeks? Then now pops up and once again, and like Goldilocks the Dog returns to vomit blames, not weird family drama / sovereign citizen stuff – too cold, not the obvious reaction to covid-stalinism, the career destruction and being run out of and banned from society story of these (just months before) pillars of the establishment teachers and school principal by the state – too hot. No, yum, yum, the just-right political and cultural temperature to build upon: Christianity.
This time though, having learned from the first attempt which was too much, they’ve sharpening the point against one variation of Christianity, which is incidentally the type shared by most people in regional and rural QLD who are the most against hated thorn in the side of the QLD cultural urban political class – evangelicals, etc.
“Christians are easy targets: the media hates them …”
At the same time, the media will be careful to respect Aboriginal Christians
Also it’s no coincidence that while in the US stories about Trad-Catholics being on the FBI general watch list swirl, in Australia the narrative is built about the Australian political equivalent.
If mainline Australian Anglicans or Catholics think they can “who me?” their way out of the coming anti-christian state apparatus that is being rapidly built (which aus-catholics must be acutely aware of), with distancing or appeals to (what to the public are minor) theological differences, because the state throws a bone about “oh its only going to used against those whacky happy-clappers / catholics, etc”, just remember that the police first casually blamed them just as Christians and only ham-fistedly refined it after an outcry. They know that nobody really cares about the difference. To them and the public a christian is a christian is a christian.
not much of a political statement to make it at night when no-one is there.
not much mediabang for your buck so to speak.
clearly it was attempted suicide. As suicide is not rational then it s a bit silly to apply rational motives to said person.
The analysis in The Nero Protocol (for which, thank, you CL) is most incisive, for the accusations levelled by the state empowered ideologues against Christianity – accusations of prejudice, intolerance, violence, murderousness, perversions, brutality, cultisms, manias, ugliness – are in their mendacity revealed as nothing other than the corollaries espoused by the ideologic accusers themselves, ideologic corollaries which advocate doctrines engendering fears as a constant state, doctrines of climate extinction, eugenics, euthanasia, death-dealings as such, death of truth, transmorphisms, vileness, perversions, violence, the Endless War, scientism, cultisms of a millenarian New World Order. And so on.
With regard to the current ideologues who in CL’s analysis are sacrificing truth for power in line with Nero, Blake, too, understood that:
As the man is, so he sees.
Trampis thinks terrorists are more logical than folks who commit suicide. I think this neatly illustrates the Trampis relationship with logic.
Thank you C.L. You have summed up this hideous situation perfectly, both on the bombing of the ACL and the Trains and their motives.
We are on the brink of Christians being painted as the “baddies”, so everything old is new again.
Non Mentis
If he wanted to make a political statement and kill people in the building then he chose a funny time to do it.
Attempted suicide seems to fit the evidence better than any other explanation
Suuuuure, whatever you say.
Yes, Tramp, because bombings are always cleaned up before dawn. You know it makes sense.
Duong may well have intended to martyr himself for the ssm cause, that didn’t make it a simple suicide.
Location Location Location.
Non Mentis
not much of a political statement to make it at night when no-one is there.
not much mediabang for your buck so to speak.
Actually, he got quite a lot of “mediabang (sic)”.
The left’s and MSM’s absolute bullshit assertion that Duong’s blowing up his van was just a failed suicide attempt and had nothing to do with targeting the ACL holds no water at all.
So it was just a coincidence that he was only attempting to kill himself (and cause no damage to property) by blowing up four gas tanks (rather excessive I would have thought) right outside his self-declared enemy’s HQ, instead of say, topping himself in the bush or anywhere else.
Very believable.
BTW, I just saw a flying pig go past my window.
LOL.
Well done, both gaslighting and straw-manning!
Who, besides you, suggested he was trying to “kill people”?
Lot’s of interesting thoughts here, CL.
Ta.
You’re gonna break my dictionary if you keep this up, C.L.
QPol can’t recruit cops so going overseas for them. Qlders know. Foreign recruits might be in for a shock.
The morphing of the line on Wieambilla is interesting since early in the reporting it was disclosed that Nathaniel Train was a school principal of aboriginal heritage in Dubbo. Dubbo is also a centre of aboriginal community rioting with a long history of detesting police.
Both those aspects – their aboriginal heritage, and the Dubbo unrest, rapidly vanished from the narrative.
Then the additional data were that Gareth’s wife Stacy was anti Covid-vax, and that Nathaniel lost his job after having a heart attack at his desk. He was last seen in Dubbo in Oct 2021. The vax rollout commenced in February that year. At the time he would have to be vaccinated to keep his position. I have seen no reporting that his heart attack was related to the Covid vaccine. But if it was, and if the family was already anti the vaccine, then that would add a VERY powerful quantum of fury to an already volatile guy.
Put that all together and I think you just might see a motive. And see why the MSM would do spectacular contortions not to report any of this.
So it amuses me they finally decided to use a tenuous link to Christianity as a squirrel. But I’m not at all surprised, the pressure on the media and Qld police for a motive would’ve been huge – only they didn’t dare say what the real motive was, did they?
That’s how the Left rolls. Today they are intimating the East Palestine residents deserved the Ohio disaster since they voted for Trump. FEMA refused to support them until two weeks after the accident. Buttigieg went on holiday. The EPA was completely absent.
‘The View’ Turns Pure Evil With Disgusting Attack on Residents of East Palestine (23 Feb)
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Trying to Give Norfolk Southern $15 Million in Taxpayer Funds (22 Feb)
Sure, things that happen a night never get reported the next day.
Sure, the motives of suicide-bombers can never be inferred from their targets.
Queenslanders know
All manner of individuals (thugs and ratbags, if you like) have made their way into the Qld Police Force/Service in recent decades. The current crop of women at the top are failures. Let’s see what types they manage to attract with their overseas recruiting drive.
As I mentioned some time ago, the Trains were as much aboriginal
as many, many Proud Persons lionised on the ABC
The Trains felt threatened and aggrieved by the State and Police.
The Trains killed some Police and in turn a Police party killed the Trains.
Isn’t this exactly the type of incident now to be commemorated at the War Memorial?
Appallingly, yes it is.
Kamikaze pilots have always been deeply misunderstood.
Errrr … slightly off topic … and a bit off colour … but there’s a meme going round where the pretty call center girl answers the phone, “Hello Suicide Hotline” and then Hillary on the other end says, “Could you put me through to sales? I’d like to place an order.”
Your subjective view of how efficacious it was as a political statement doesn’t alter the fact that it was a political statement and the ACT Police knew it.
This isn’t a matter of opinion. It is fact.
Miranda Devine was one of the few journalists whose alarm bells went off at the time:
QPol can’t recruit cops so going overseas for them. Qlders know. Foreign recruits might be in for a shock.
Who believes that?
Great Super scheme, retire at 55, heaps of perks, mostly loaf all day.
More likely, Q-Pig has Diversity Quotas, Congolese, Ukrainian recruits are hard to find in Brisbane.
I know, Jack. Unfortunately, eschatology is an arcane field. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is malfeasance comparable to VicPol’s handling of the Pell case.
In sort of related news, the cop who slammed that bloke in the viral video from Flinders Street station has been adjudged no case to answer. FMD.
the reason he did a runner on his teaching job is he refused to take the jab. So no link to heart problems sorry.
yes. Plenty of blokes don’t get selected these days, while wisps of young girls do.