Neo-Nazi businessman, 44, is jailed for almost two years for sharing sickening footage of the Christchurch terror attack – saying that he wanted to add a ‘kill count’
- Philip Neville Arps jailed for sharing footage of Christchurch terror attack
- The businessman requested that the footage be modified with a ‘kill count’
- Also requested crosshairs be added as if the viewer was looking through a rifle
- Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said Arps ‘glorified’ horrific shooting in which 51 died
A controversial businessman has been jailed for sharing footage of the devastating Christchurch terrorist attack.
Philip Neville Arps, 44, was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two charges of distributing the chilling footage of the March 15 massacre.
A day after the massacre, Arps sent the video to an unknown person and requested that the footage be modified with a ‘kill count’ as victims were shot.
Philip Neville Arps (pictured), 44, was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to two charges of distributing the chilling footage of the March 15 massacre
He also requested that crosshairs be added to make it appear as if the viewer was looking through a rifle scope before sending the unmodified footage to another 30 people, Stuff reported.
When interviewed by police, Arps said he thought the footage of the shooting was ‘awesome’.
When questioned about the victims from the two mosques, he replied: ‘I could not give a f**k, mate.’
Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said Arps had ‘glorified’ the horrific shooting in which 51 people were killed.
He said it was clear that Arps has ‘strong and unrepentant views towards the Muslim community’.
Judge O’Driscoll called his actions a hate crime against the Muslim community.
A pre-sentence report found Arps has no remorse or empathy for anyone but himself and his family, the New Zealand Herald reported.
There were other matters within the report which Judge O’Driscoll chose not to mention out of concern that they would be viewed as a ‘badge of honour’ by Arps.
The report noted Arps has a high risk of reoffending.
Judge O’Driscoll said the chance of Arps changing his views on religion or race were virtually non-existent.
Arps (pictured) and two other men delivered a box containing a severed pig head to the Masjid Al-Noor mosque in 2016, three years before it was targeted in the recent terror attack
He was sentenced to 21 months behind bars.
Arps, whose insulation firm has Nazi themes in its company logo, is no stranger to controversy.
He and two other men delivered a box containing a severed pig head to Christchurch’s Masjid Al-Noor mosque in 2016, three years before it was targeted in the recent terror attack.
The incident was filmed and showed two of the men giving the Nazi salute.
In the Islamic faith pork is considered unclean and the consumption of it is prohibited, as outlined in the Qur’an.
Arps was fined $800 and ordered to pay $130 court costs in relation to the 2016 incident.