A 16-year-old self-declared neo-Nazi has been found guilty of plotting multiple terror attacks on targets in the UK between October 2017 and March of this year, British media outlets reported Wednesday.
The boy, a follower of far-right ideologies since he was 13, was convicted on six counts of terrorism — including preparing terrorist acts, disseminating terrorist publications and possession of useful terrorist material.
Police took notice of the boy in 2017 when he began posting racist and homophobic tweets. He was questioned that year by authorities but he claimed the extremist content was meant only “for a laugh.”
In March, the boy was arrested and found in possession of instructions on how to make explosives and poison. He was also carrying a drawing of a fellow schoolmate being beheaded and a cryptic note about killing.
UK officials seized a large collection of far-right literature and handwritten documents with extremist content from his bedroom.
The boy kept a journal, where he referred to himself as a “natural sadist,” a “radical nationalist socialist” and an “accelerationist,” the latter referring to a “race war” the boy claimed was “inevitable.”
He expressed admiration for Adolph Hitler, saying he had read Mein Kampf and considered the Nazi leader “a brave man, to say the least.” He also quoted or referred positively to Moors murderer Ian Brady, cult leader Charles Manson, Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik and Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
In addition to his diary, the boy drafted a manifesto, entitled “Storm 88: A manual for practical sensible guerilla warfare against the kike system in Durham city area,” which detailed plans to attack various targets including schools, pubs, post offices, council buildings and public transport systems. He also had prepared to firebomb multiple synagogues in the Durham area, where he lived.
His past internet searches included knives and firearms websites, maps of UK synagogues, ISIS execution videos and bomb-making manuals. He had distributed violent and extremist content by uploading it to fascist online forums.
The court said he openly touted antisemitic conspiracy theories about the media and Jewish officials and that he had been communicating with a gun auctioneer.
The youngster pleaded not guilty to the six offenses, claiming he had not intended to carry out actual attacks and only said so for “shock value.”
His sentencing will take place in January. He is the youngest person to be convicted of plotting a terrorist attack in the UK.