Far-right extremists guilty of planning terror attacks

Three far-right extremists who amassed hundreds of weapons and planned to carry out attacks on targets including a mosque have been convicted of terrorism offences.

Brogan Stewart, 25, from West Yorkshire, Christopher Ringrose, 34, from Staffordshire, and Marco Pitzettu, 25, from Derbyshire, were part of an online group who “idolised the Nazi regime”.

Sheffield Crown Court was told how Stewart had detailed torturing a Muslim leader using an “information extraction kit”.

All three were found guilty of terrorism offences at the same court on Wednesday and are due to be sentenced on 17 July.

During the nine-week trial, the court heard more than 200 weapons including machetes, hunting knives, swords and crossbows were found at their homes.

Ringrose had also begun to build a 3D-printed semi-automatic firearm, which counter-terror police said would have been a “lethal weapon”.

The three men had discussed targets for harassment and attacks including mosques, Islamic education centres and synagogues.

The court heard how the group, who had never met in person and communicated online, were infiltrated by an undercover officer.

Stewart, the group’s leader, had told the officer that they needed to establish a “new einsatzgruppe” – a reference to Adolf Hitler’s SS death squad.

In chats via the Telegram social media platform, he described how he had an “information kit” which included a blowtorch, pliers, gaffer tape, a screwdriver, bleach and a syringe.

Stewart, from Tingley, near Leeds, went on to detail torturing victims such as “local imams” and added nothing “loosened up” people “like seeing a syringe filled with bleach”, jurors were told.

The group were also prepared for what they believed was an inevitable race war.

The men were arrested after security services believed an attack could be imminent.

Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said the men had claimed what they were discussing was “just harmless chat”.

“These men had bonded over extreme racial prejudice. They idolised the Nazi regime, they glorified mass killing,” he said.

“They’ve physically amassed weapons, they’ve constructed a 3D-printed firearm and they were trying to identify potential targets.

“This was far more than fantasy. This was something that could have very easily moved into the real world.”

Stewart, Ringrose and Pitzettu were all found guilty of a charge of preparing acts of terrorism and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

Ringrose was also convicted of manufacturing a prohibited weapon.

Pitzettu pleaded guilty to obtaining an illegal stun gun at a previous hearing.