A DJ who was arrested and charged for disrupting an Anzac Day dawn service in Sydney is among 50 "would-be extremists" being assessed as part of a new anti-terrorism police unit, it has been reported.
As Fairfax reports, "Smokin" Joe Mekhael, 32, was named as a subject of the newly formed "fixated persons investigations unit", announced this week by NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.
The 'fixated persons' unit is comprised of 17 detectives and mental health workers, and will assess people who "aren't active counter-terrorism targets, yet they are capable of acts of terrorism", Fuller said.
Mekhael, who once held the Guinness record for performing the longest-ever DJ set, was arrested early on Tuesday and charged with behaving in an offensive manner in a public place and resisting an officer following his protest, which involved yelling out during a performance of the Last Post.
Upon his release from jail, he described the demonstration as an "epically successful" disruption of "the celebration of war that is Anzac Day". He will face court next month.
According to Fairfax, other individuals who will be assessed by the unit include 23-year-old Ihsas Khan, who was accused of stabbing his neighbour in an attack allegedly inspired by the Islamic State, 19-year-old Alo-Bridget Namoa, and unidentified persons including an 18-year-old Narwee man who was arrested last year in the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House on suspicion of Islamic State-related activities.
Additional subjects eligible for risk assessment can be nominated by family, friends, and neighbours, as well as counter-terrorism or local police.
"I'm not suggesting that, if you call, we're going to kick your door down," Fuller said. "What I do want to give is give the community a pathway to contact someone if they've got concerns about a family member, a friend or a neighbour, because at the moment people don't see them as terrorists but they are committing terrorist activities."
The announcement of the unit has not been without criticism, with suggestions being put forth that it may develop and encourage a particular bias against Muslims who suffer from mental health issues.
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