Albanese evacuated from The Lodge due to bomb threat written in Chinese saying The Lodge would be ‘blown into ruins’
New details have emerged that the threat against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese included a message written in Chinese that said “blood will flow”.
Australian Federal Police were sent to Mr Albanese’s official residence, The Lodge, at 6pm on Tuesday following a threat and he was moved to another secure location.
Authorities conducted a three-hour search of the Prime Minister’s house, but nothing was found.
The Epoch Times, which has been linked to the Falun Gong movement, claimed email threats were sent saying: “The Prime Minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins.”
The messages allegedly threatened that the Shen Yun performance, affiliated with Falun Gong, had to be stopped in order to prevent the attack.
“Large quantities of nitroglycerin explosives have been placed around the Australian prime minister’s Lodge, located on Adelaide Avenue in the Deakin area of Canberra, Australia,” an email said.
“If you insist on proceeding with the performance, then the prime minister’s Lodge will be blown into ruins and blood will flow like a river.”
Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by Falun Gong practitioners, and has been banned by the Chinese government.
The performance has been banned by China and accused of being anti-communist propaganda.
Mr Albanese returned to The Lodge on Tuesday and thanked police for their professionalism in the evacuation.
“About 6pm today, the AFP responded to an alleged security incident within the ACT,” police said in a statement on Tuesday.
“A thorough search of a protection establishment was undertaken and nothing suspicious was located.
“There is no current threat to the community or public safety. Further information will be provided at an appropriate time.”
Anthony Albanese has revealed details of his dramatic evacuation from The Lodge after police rushed to the prime minister’s residence due to a security threat. Picture: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images
Mr Albanese had hosted Karl Stefanovic in The Lodge earlier on Tuesday for a livestreamed episode of the podcast The Karl Stefanovic Show.
Former AFP detective superintendent David Craig told Sky News that evacuating the Prime Minister was a “significant move” by authorities.
“This isn’t some online threat… There must be some corroboration to it for (police) to act this way,” he said.
“They will have a number of plans, and depending on the objective or the vector of the threat, those plans will be enacted and the response will be appropriate.”
