Man gets almost 2 years in prison for sharing New Zealand mosque shooting video


A New Zealand man has received a 21-month prison sentence for sharing video of the Christchurch mosque shooting online.
44-year-old Philip Neville Arps received this sentence of almost two years in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material, CNN reports.
The gunman who killed 51 people at two Christchurch mosques in March streamed his attack on Facebook for nearly 20 minutes, and in New Zealand, it's a crime to distribute material showing "extreme violence and terrorism," The New York Times reports.
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Arps reportedly sent video of the shooting to about 30 people online. He also reportedly asked for a "kill count" to be added to the footage and described it as "awesome," BBC News reports. He was previously charged in 2016 for leaving a pig's head at the Al Noor mosque, one of the two mosques the gunman attacked in March.
"It is clear from all the material before me that you have strong and unrepentant views towards the Muslim community," Judge Stephen O'Driscoll said, CNN reports.
Arps' lawyer said he would appeal the sentence, The New York Times reports.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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