Far-right extremists jailed for terror plots
Three Nazi-worshipping terrorists who were found guilty of terror charges have been sentenced to prison. Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzetu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were found guilty in May of planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues. Stewart, a West Yorkshire man, was sentenced to 11 years, Ringrose, based in Staffordshire, was jailed for ten years, and Pitzettu, mainly from Derbyshire, will complete Mrs Justice Cutts said she believed they all adhered to their extreme right-wing ideology while convicted at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday.
The judge outlined how the three online community in Leeds was gearing up for an attack on an Islamic education center before being arrested by counter-terrorism police. The men, who are not expected to have met in the real world before being arrested in jail, were planning to use more than 200 weapons, including machetes, swords, crossbows, and an unlawful stun gun, according to their trial. Ringrose had also 3D-printed the majority of the parts of a semi-automatic rifle. The three defendants, according to Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC, were
and branded themselves as an armed military group.followers of an extreme right-wing national ideology
Mr Sandiford said by 2024, they were looking for new recruits and planning to purchase more deadly weapons. By January and February, he said they were planning their first assault and had identified a target in Leeds, harbouring a "intention to commit acts of violence involving multiple victims. After undercover officers invaded their online community, the three men were arrested when security services suspected an attack was imminent. A jury had dismissed the defendants' claims that they were fantasists with no intention of carrying out their attacks, finding all three guilty of terrorism preparation and gathering evidence likely to be useful to a person planning or committing a terrorist act. Ringrose was also found guilty of making a banned weapon.
'Vile views'
The self-styled militant
online group, according to counter-terrorism police, published a echo chamber of extremist
right-wing views in which they broadcast horrific racial insults, glorified mass murderers, and encouraged violence against anyone deemed Counter Terrorism Policing North East Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley said they were a group that
Anyone of their defenses in court was that it was all fantasy or just a harmless chat,espoused racial views and advocated for violence, all to promote their extreme right-wing ideology.
It was a complicated situation involving multiple police forces,the three protagonists' explanation was that they took real-world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an assault on innocent civilians.
the author said. The men plannedviolent acts of terrorism,
They were inspired by SS tactics and supremacist ideology, which they explained on their own.according to Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Counter Terrorism Division.
Mr Justice Cutts said she feared the defendants' freedom would be risky on their release from jail, so they were released from jail and served three years each for Ringrose and Pitzettu, as well as five years for Stewart and five years respectively. In a 374-page dossier of internet use submitted to the jury, she said the trio's ideology wasThe criminal trial brought them their troubling Telegram and Facebook conversations as well as purchasing military arms such as riot shields, body armour, and a cache of weapons found at their home addresses that were supposed to be used in preparation for a 'race war.
laid bare.These pages were swarms of hate against black and other non-white races, especially Muslim people and immigrants, with suggestions of white supremacy and racial equality mixed with a sense of imminent war.
This was coupled, she said, withglorification and admiration of Hitler and the German Nazi Party's policies and activities, including antisemitism and mass murders targeting black or Muslim populations. The nine-week trial heard how the defendants formed Einsatz 14 in January 2024, with
like-minded fundamentalistswho wanted to
information extraction kitgo to war for their chosen cause. The jury was shown a short video of Stewart sporting a German army helmet, a Nazi armband, and a skull face mask. Prosecutors deblasted Stewart's discussion of torturing a Muslim leader with his
with an undercover cop. Stewart called himselfFuhrer
Obergruppenfuhrerof the Einsatz 14 group and named Blackheart as the
basic duties(which the other two defendants also joined. Potential recruits were sent a vetting process, and Stewart also wrote a mission statement for the group, which said it had
includedtarget mosques, Islamic education centers, and other similar locations. He also sent Blackheart information about the Islamic education center on Mexborough Road in Leeds, which included a Google Maps snapshot. Stewart pleaded for more information about the scheme, and the officer replied that they could smash windows or ambush someone, according to the court. On release and to Terrorism Notification Requirements for 30 years, all three men will be subjected to a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years as well as Terrorist Notification requirements for 30 Additional reporting by PA Media on West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, listen to highlights from BBC Sounds from West Yorkshire's latestepisode of Look North.
