2014 Sydney Siege

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On 15 December 2014 at approximately 9:45am, [[Iran]]ian-born self-proclaimed Islamic cleric Man Haron Monis entered the Lindt Cafe in Martin Palaca, Sydney, [[Australia]], armed with a sawn-off pump action shotgun. He proceeded to take seventeen individuals in the building as hostages, and ordered them to take turns in holding a black Islamic flag (then mistaken by media outlets to be a flag of the [[Islamic State]]) through one of the cafe's windows; he also ordered several hostages to create videos outlining his demands for their release, which included a live conversation with Australian Prime Minister [[Tony Abbott]] via radio and the delivery of an [[Islamic State]] flag to the building.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141218161944/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJj0YN5pE0w&gl=US&hl=en</ref> Such demands were never met, and at 2:30am the following morning, Monis executed one hostage while others fled; he was subsequently shot and killed by Australian police, signalling an end to the tragic event, but another hostage died as a result of the crossfire.<ref>http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2927772/Deaths-Sydney-siege-victims-Katrina-Dawson-Tori-Johnson-investigated-inquest-opens.html</ref>

Subsequent investigation revealed that Monis had previously been hospitalised for mental illness,<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210125122425/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/sydney-siege/sydney-siege-inquest-man-haron-monis-a-chronic-schizophrenic/story-fnqxbywy-1227371276836</ref> had claimed that he was once a member of Iran's Intelligence service when he actually had only ran a travel agency,<ref>http://www.smh.com.au/world/sydney-siege-iran-says-it-requested-extradition-of-gunman-man-haron-monis-in-2000-20141216-128qoi.html</ref> and was regarded as a pest by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20150216201015/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/sheik-faked-to-stir-up-ill-feeling/story-e6frg8yo-1111115203676</ref> At the time of the incident, he was on bail for multiple sexual assault charges.<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-05/sydney-siege-coroner-hands-down-decision-on-man-monis-bail/6525090</ref>

That's not it, however.

==Conspiracy theories and other lunacy==
Within hours of the siege coming to a close, events followed their depressingly predictable course, and copious [[YouTube]] videos emerged declaring that the Sydney Siege was a [[false flag]] terror attack used by the global elites to extend the police state in Australia, that all involved were "[[crisis actor]]s", and that Man Haron Monis himself was an actor or rodeo clown. Or something like that. While this notion gathered some support soon enough, some [[conspiracy theorists]] who would usually adhere to such propositions in the given context denounced such an idea.

*[[Alex Jones]]' [[Infowars]] immediately claimed that it was a false flag to act as a justification for further conflict against the Islamic State in the Middle East.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141216055407/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqb3yk_xjXI&gl=US&hl=en</ref>
*Henry Ward, an Islamic convert and conspiracy theorist, argued that the perpetrator, Man Haron Monis, was, in fact, a Christian extremist and terrorist working for the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]]. He had little to no [[evidence]] to back up these statements — not even the kind of "evidence" that conspiracy-addicted [[crank]]s would consider to be "valid" — and for this reason, Ward's theory is considered to be a baseless conspiracy theory.
*A Christian conspiracy theorist YouTube channel, Edifying Others, argued that the perpetrator, Man Haron Monis, was in fact a [[Gnosticism|gnostic]] [[Satanism|luciferian]] [[Illuminati]] terrorist working for the [[NWO]]. Their evidence? His surname "Monis" is one letter short of '[[monism]]', a doctrine Christian conspiracy theorists regard as akin to the ecumenical movement for a [[one world religion]].
*TeamWakeemUP also claimed that the siege was a false flag and used the fact of an anti-terror drill held in the exact location a year prior as "evidence" for such.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20141219055306/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT9xT-dEs5M&gl=US&hl=en</ref>
*Right-wing conspiracy theorist [[SyrianGirlPartisan]] said she did not believe that the situation was a false flag, though was open to the possibility that the Sydney Siege would be used as a justification in the future to curtail civil liberties.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFpU7u06TEk</ref>
*In the U.S., [[Fox News]] used the event to justify their support for [[CIA]] torture, claiming that torture tactics such as those used at [[Guantanamo Bay]] during the [[Bush]] Administration could very well have prevented an event like the Sydney Siege from occurring on US soil.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20150413213154/http://www.qt.com.au/news/fox-news-uses-sydney-siege-justify-cia-torture/2487806/</ref>

==See also==
*[[Sandy Hook massacre]]

==References==
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{{Down Under}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Crime]]
[[Category:Islamic extremism]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Australia]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Crime, Islamic extremism, Terrorism, Australia