US man held after discussing NZ terror attack on FB

A man in the US was arrested after he discussed on Facebook an American re-enactment of last month's attacks on two mosques in New Zealand's Christchurch city.

Thomas Alonzo Bolin, 22, was charged on Thursday with lying to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in an interview last week about whether he owned firearms, The New York Times reported.

He was already in custody on state charges filed on Saturday, said the report, adding that whether Bolin had made any specific plans for violence was not yet clear.

But according to the criminal complaint, Bolin had praised in Facebook messages the March 15 mass killing of 50 people in New Zealand.

Using the alias Peter Vincent, Bolin shared video of the Christchurch attack, which was livestreamed by the shooter on Facebook.

He used the same alias to discuss potential violence with his cousin, Austin Witkowski, on the social networking platform.

--IANS

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