Not OK: How the New Zealand Mosque Massacre Became an Attack For White Supremacy

With a smirk on his face, the New Zealand massacre accused flashed an ‘OK’ symbol during his first appearance in court on Saturday.

Charged with murder, Brenton Tarrant has been remanded without bail and is expected back in court next month. Tarrant live-streamed his attack on Facebook on Friday as he killed 41 people at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch and went on to murder seven other people at the Linwood Mosque.

Showing no remorse, during his appearance in court, he flashed an ‘OK’ sign, known mostly for being the symbol for white supremacy. Tarrant’s inclination as a white supremacist came to the fore as he left behind a manifesto before gunning down more than two dozen people.

The OK symbol that the extremist flashed in court seems to be in support of the movement he’s part of. The three fingers are the W for White and the two curled fingers are the P for Power.

This is not the first time that the symbol has been used by white supremacists. It was around 2015 that the symbol became famous with supports of then US presidential candidate Donald Trump. At some point, the symbol became recognised with white power.

In 2016, on election night in the US, Richard Spencer, President of the National Policy Institute, who openly refers to himself as a white supremacist, posted a picture of himself in front of Trump International Hotel as he flashed ‘OK’ and wrote: “Tonight’s the night.”

Months later, in 2017, a White House correspondent was also seen showing the symbol at a press briefing. Further, a White House intern too was seen flashing the OK symbol during his class photograph in 2017. One of Trump’s main strategists for the birder wall, Stephen Miller, too has made such gestures. Last year, multiple members of the police force in Alabama too were seen making the ‘OK’ sign.