A New Zealand man who shared a livestream video of the Christchurch mosque attacks with 30 people, asking for it to be modified to include a ‘kill count’, has been jailed.
Christchurch District Judge Stephen O’Driscoll said Philip Arps held ‘unrepentant views’ towards the Muslim community.
He has been sentenced to 21 months in jail.
A gunman killed 51 people in the attack on Muslims at a mosque and Islamic centre during Friday prayers in March.
Appearing at the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday, Arps pleaded guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material for sharing footage that was livestreamed to social media during the attack.
The court was also told that Arps had intended to share a modified video, which included crosshairs and a kill count.
He described the modified footage as ‘awesome’, the New Zealand Herald reported.
Judge O’Driscoll condemned Arps’ actions, calling them a ‘hate crime’.
He said it was ‘particularly cruel’ of Arps to share the video in the days after the attacks.
The 44-year-old businessman had pleaded guilty in April.
He also has a previous conviction from 2016, after leaving a pig’s head at the Al Noor Mosque, which was one of the mosques targeted during the Christchurch mass shooting.
Australian Brenton Tarrant faces 92 charges in connection to the shootings at the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.
Earlier this week, he pleaded not guilty to all charges and will face trial next year.
The 15 March attack was New Zealand’s deadliest mass shooting in modern times.
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