The obvious answer is Trump

Stuff reports:

NZ’s top security officials were all set to renew the terrorist designation of America’s “violently extreme right-wing populist” group the Proud Boys. But the chair changed his mind at the last minute. Explainer Editor Lloyd Burr delves through 119 pages of official documents. …

A lot of that advice – emails, discussion documents and even a draft announcement – were released on Wednesday, totalling 119 documents.

They show a whole lot of preparation and work to renew the APB terrorist designation – then an 11th hour decision by National Security Board (NSB) chair and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) CEO Ben King not to.

But on June 17, the day before the deadline, King changed his mind, writing to his DPMC colleagues: “I wanted to have one last look at the assessments before I finally recommended a course of action to the Prime Minister, ahead of the deadline for renewal/redesignation.

“That’s because designating any entity as a terrorist entity is a significant step, and it’s important we maintain the integrity of the system.

“My review of the case for the Proud Boys, however, left me with questions about whether the evidence was sufficient to meet the test. The case, in my view, rests on judgements around intent, and what might have happened if the leadership were not incarcerated.”

The reference to incarceration is because APB leader Henry Enrique Tarrio had been sentenced to 22 years in prison over the Capitol riots. Other APB members had been imprisoned too. But President Donald Trump had pardoned them all earlier in the year.

I don’t know why Ben King changed his mind. Disappointingly he doesn’t consult bloggers on national security terrorist designations. But I’m happy to take an educated guess.

Generally speaking terrorist groups tend to be seen as such, by the government of the country they are based in. The UK Government saw the IRA as a terrorist group, the German Government saw the Red Army faction as a terrorist group etc. The exception tends to be where the government itself is a sponsor of terrorism, such as Iran.

The Trump Administration doesn’t see the Proud Boys as a terrorist group. To the contrary, Trump has pardoned many of them. So if New Zealand had renewed their designation as a terrorist group, it would be potentially seen as very insulting by the US President, if he was told about it.

King’s letter continues to outline his U-turn rationale: “I was not convinced, on a final read, that the Statement of Case met the test required by the Act.

“I want to be clear that Proud Boys is a distasteful, disruptive and corrosive organisation, and that its tactics and methods are well beyond the pale. But I think we require further work and reflection on the evidence base, which will feed into advice for the Prime Minister’s consideration.

“I have recommended to the Prime Minister that he should not proceed with redesignating the Proud Boys.”

King is correct that the Proud Boys are corrosive. But that by itself doesn’t mean they are a terrorist group. Of interest is the fact that NZ was one of only two countries (Canada also) that ever designated them as such.