Australia has revoked a visa it issued to a far-right British speaker after he blamed the Christchurch terror attack on "extremist leftism and barbaric, alien religious cultures".
Milo Yiannopoulos was granted a visa last week, personally approved by Australian Immigration Minister David Coleman, the Guardian reports.
But it's now been stripped away, after Yiannopoulos wrote on Facebook that extreme right-wing killers "get pushed to the far-right by the left".
"The violence directly inspired by grassroots right-wing media figures comes from Antifa, not our supporters," he said. Antifa is a loose collection of left-wing activists who oppose fascism and far-right views.
"Attacks like this happen because the establishment panders to and mollycoddles extremist leftism and barbaric, alien religious cultures. Not when someone dares to point it out."
Coleman called the comments "appalling", and accused him of fomenting "hatred and division".
"The terrorist attack in Christchurch was carried out on Muslims peacefully practising their religion," he said in a statement. "It was an act of pure evil."
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The alleged killer, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, posted a manifesto online shortly before the massacre. In it he expressed far-right views and said Norwegian terrorist and mass killer Anders Breivik was his "true inspiration".
The Sydney Morning Herald reports Breivik's own manifesto, written before he murdered 77 people, cited New Zealand as a place European racists could go to avoid immigration.
Last time Yiannopoulos was in Australia, he was slapped with a $50,000 bill for riots that took place outside venues he spoke at.
Newshub.
