Nathan Symington during an earlier court appearance. Photo / George Heard
Nathan Symington during an earlier court appearance. Photo / George Heard
WARNING: This article discusses sensitive content that may be distressing.
A man dressed in military-style clothing who shot at pictures of then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with firearms and a crossbow in a video titled “Enemies spotted in the wild” has been jailed.
Nathan Raureti Symington also “spread hatred” towards the Muslim community, accusing them of “glorifying and encouraging” the Christchurch terror attacks on March 15, 2019, a judge said.
Symington, 38, appeared at Christchurch District Court on Friday for sentencing on a charge of distributing an objectionable publication with knowledge and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Images of Symington firing various weapons were first posted on a public digital channel on November 1, 2020, and titled “Enemies spotted in the wild”.
It was later discovered by an online campaigner working to identify far-right activists in New Zealand.
The one-minute, 42-second video shows an individual repeatedly shooting images of Ardern and other high-profile politicians.
Nathan Symington during an earlier court appearance. Photo / George Heard
In the video, seen by the Herald, Symington is wearing a hat, goggles and a sand-coloured shemagh scarf, often used by military personnel in desert environments. He is seen shooting a crossbow, a .22 rifle and a shotgun at various targets.
It is featured on a video hosting service the Herald has decided not to name.
On December 15, 2020, police found Symington at a Wigram address. They also found a crossbow in his vehicle, resembling the one used in the video. They did not find the rifle or shotgun.
The court heard Symington also distributed various publications relating to the Christchurch terrorist attacks, suggesting they were a hoax.
Judge Paul Kellar criticised Symington, stating he had spread “hateful propaganda” and misinformation.
In relation to the objectionable publication charges, Symington said his offending was not intended to harm the Muslim community but to highlight the “Government’s failure” to protect the community.
The court heard his offending had been “taken the wrong way” and Symington was merely expressing himself through art when making the shooting videos, which he found “therapeutic”.
His lawyer, Craig Ruane, said his client had participated in activities since his offending which had helped him reach some understanding of how people were affected by his actions.
Since his offending he had lost his job in the IT sector, lost his relationship and had experienced harassment.
The court heard Symington has since apologised to one of the Christchurch mosques and had been invited inside. He had also made a connection with a member of the mosque, who was in court to support him.
Ruane said Symington did not deserve a prison sentence.
However, Judge Kellar disagreed, noting that the harm caused by Symington’s actions was “deeply traumatic and disturbing”.
The judge had “no doubt” the material was classed as objectionable as it depicted acts of “extreme violence”.
He considered Symington’s guilty pleas, otherwise good character, remorse and efforts to make amends with the community most affected by his offending and his time spent on bail.
However, this wasn’t enough to escape a sentence of imprisonment and he was jailed for two years and six months. The judge also made an order for the destruction of the objectionable material.
Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.
