Latest updates on the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings.
The mosque at the centre of Friday's horrific massacre in Christchurch was previously subjected to the delivery of boxes of pigs heads by Hitler-saluting men who boasted "Bring on the cull".
Video, intended to be shared within the 20-strong cell of local neo-Nazis, emerged online over the weekend showing tradesmanPhilip Neville Arps delivering the offal - pig meat is considered unclean by Muslims - to the Masjid Al-Noor mosque in March 2016.
In the videos - seemingly prepared to record and propagandise the activity amongst the group - Arps said the incident had led to an appearance in the Christchurch District Court where he was convicted of offensive behaviour and fined $800.
The Herald has chosen not to publish the videos.
"It was a deliberate attack, and deliberate offence against Muslims, were the judge's words. Obviously the judge knows me well," Arps said while his cameraman sniggered.
"White power, my friends, my family, my people. Let's get these f***ers out. Bring on the cull."
On Friday, three years after that incident, more than forty worshippers were shot dead at the mosque as they gathered for prayers.
Arps was accompanied during his 2016 visit to the mosque by two associates who stood on the doorsteps of the mosque delivering Hitler salutes for the camera.
While carrying his boxes of offal on the mosque grounds Arps said he wished the containers were filled with something different.
Video emerged on Friday featuring Christchurch tradesman Philip Neville Arps packaging and delivering the pig heads to Linwood mosque in 2016. Photo / File
"White power, I don't go to a mosque often, it should be f***ing molotovs."
On Friday, on a Facebook page set up to campaign to "Ban the Burqa", Arps responded to a post on the then-ongoing attacks with a single word: "Excellent."
Reached for comment over the weekend, Arps told the Herald that alleged murderer Brenton Tarrant, facing charges for Friday's massacre, was "taking the piss" but that he himself was "political".
He said Tarrant's actions would "demonise patriotism".
Questions to Google, who hosted the cell's group page that also included pictures of anti-Semitic posters and stickers displayed around Christchurch, were not answered by press time.
The group also featured pictures of Arps and another man giving Hitler salutes while clutching military-style semi automatic rifles.
Massey University professor Paul Spoonley, who has researched white supremacist groups for 40 years, said he was aware of the 2016 incident and the Christchurch group.
"I don't know whether they're naive or just interested in self-promotion, but it's quite easy to track some of their behaviour and individuals online."
Spoonley said white supremacist groups had been active in New Zealand for decades, but over the past two decades had moved the target of their attention from Jewish to Muslim groups.
"What's invisible to the community is the ongoing harassment and vilification of some groups. It doesn't involve many New Zealanders, but it is happening," he said.
While authorities were more aware of these activities than the general public, they had largely avoided attracting significant attention from security services.
"Whether they've paid enough attention is the question we've now got to ask. I don't want to be unfair to security agencies and police, but I don't think there's been enough resource given to the extreme right."
