John Howard Amundsen
John Howard Amundsen was the first Queenslander to be charged under national anti-terrorist laws in Australia. These charges were later dropped.
Background
Amundsen has no children and lived with his mother in their Aspley home prior to his arrest. He was a teacher at Ferny Grove State High School and taught the subjects of manual arts, media and business. He had a previous career as a spokesman for Brisbane Airport.After being assessed by a psychologist, he was found to have autism spectrum disorder. A report stated he often retreated into fantasy worlds, had trouble thinking rationally, lacked social skills, and needed psychotherapy to assist his issues with anxiety and depression.
Criminal charges
2006 terrorism charges
Amundsen gained notoriety in May 2006, after a stockpile of explosives and detonators were found in his home which caused the school he worked at to be evacuated and searched. On 10 May 2006, the school was closed for most of the morning as police with sniffer dogs checked classrooms, before they declared it safe for students and staff to resume lessons. In a Brisbane court on 11 May 2006, he was charged with fraudulently obtaining 53 kg of the explosive substance Powergel. He was subsequently charged with preparing a terrorist act, as well as two counts of making a threat and making a hoax threat. Amundsen was held at the Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre in Wacol.In February 2007, the charges of terrorism and making a hoax threat were dropped but replaced with new charges of possessing incendiary devices and having dangerous goods in a vehicle. In February 2008, he was jailed for six years for offences surrounding a plot to scare the parents of his ex-girlfriend so that he would win back their daughter. He pleaded guilty to making threats and possession of dangerous goods and weapons. Taking into account the 22 months spent in pre-sentence custody, Amundsen was released on parole in May 2009.