Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki says armed police have seized firearms from his property after his gun licence was revoked.
In a video posted to Facebook, Tamaki filmed himself interacting with police officers inside his garage as they catalogued and removed firearms from a gun safe.
The firearms shown in the video included hunting rifles fitted with scopes and suppressors, as well as what appeared to be a lever-action repeating rifle.
“They obviously think that I’m dangerous with it,” Tamaki said.
In the livestream, Tamaki claimed his firearms licence had been revoked two days earlier without his knowledge.
“I had no notice that my licence was cancelled, so I could have used them when I was hunting I’d have been illegally,” he said.
Tamaki described the seizure as “over the top”.
“I’m a Kiwi, I’ve been here all my life, a hunter.”
Tamaki links seizure to backlash over comments
Tamaki said he believed the seizure was connected to pressure from migrant communities and claimed politicians were attempting to appease voters.
“They’ve complained to the police that probably, I’m dangerous because of the threats they said about the mosques, the temples, which was never going to be happening.
“I wouldn’t burn their temples down, and neither would I do anything dangerous.”
Earlier this month, Tamaki made comments on social media calling for New Zealand to “purge” Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand condemned the comments, saying Tamaki had called for New Zealand to be “purged” of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim people and had suggested mosques and temples be burned.
Tamaki also directed accusations at Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying: “He is currently purging India of all Christians and burning church buildings down.
“I think we should reciprocate in kind. Let’s purge New Zealand of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. And, while we’re at it, if they’re burning churches down, why don’t we burn mosques and their temples down? Tit for tat.”
In today’s livestream, Tamaki said: “The fact is that they’re feeling the heat from me, that’s what it is. They’re feeling the heat about this immigration problem and the way that they’re treating Kiwis. We’re not looked after.”
Tamaki has previously called for a protest in Auckland to coincide with Modi’s visit to New Zealand next month.
Police had been monitoring situation
Following Tamaki’s earlier comments, police said they were “actively monitoring” the situation and would “engage with community leaders to understand and respond to any concerns”. Awaaz reported that police had moved to reassure Indian and wider ethnic communities after Tamaki’s online content caused concern ahead of Modi’s expected visit.
Police also said at the time that the material had been referred for legal assessment, with any further action to be considered in line with legislation.
After Tamaki’s initial comments, Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the Destiny Church leader’s remarks were designed to provoke fear and division. 1News reported that Mitchell described Tamaki’s comments as the “actions of a scared bully”.
“It is obvious that Brian Tamaki’s rants and deliberate targeting of ethnic communities and cowardly social media attacks against individuals are designed to tear at our social fabric to scare and prompt a response from the groups and individuals being targeted,” Mitchell said.
“We enjoy freedom of speech in our country, but with that comes responsibilities.”
Islamic federation warns against “verbal bullets”
The Federation of the Islamic Associations of New Zealand also condemned Tamaki’s comments, describing them as “verbal bullets of incitement and provocation”. 1News reported that the federation said it was making its strongest statement to media since the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019.
“Hateful rhetoric and the normalisation of verbal bullets towards religious and ethnic minorities can create … conditions for violent extremism,” the federation said.
“New Zealand cannot afford to ignore those lessons.
“The March 15 terrorist used the same language, and we are seeing history repeating itself.”
The incident comes amid growing scrutiny of Tamaki’s rhetoric, his planned protest activity and concerns from faith and ethnic communities about public safety.
