Teen guilty of belonging to banned neo-Nazi group

6 hours ago 7

Peter HarrisNorth East and Cumbria correspondent

Counter Terror Policing North East A blurry image of the boy standing in a field and holding a gun. He is wearing a mask with a skull design on it. His eyes above are blurred. He is wearing a dark waterproof jacket.

A 16-year-old boy from Northumberland has been found guilty of being part of a banned neo-Nazi organisation.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court unanimously convicted him of membership of the paramilitary group The Base, as well as possessing and sharing terror publications.

They were unable to reach a decision on the most serious allegation he faced - that he was preparing acts of terrorism - and the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed it would not seek a retrial.

The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, will be sentenced on 27 March.

Counter terror police raided the teenager's home last February and said it discovered an "arsenal" of weapons, including a crossbow, knives and a gas-powered air pistol.

The jury were shown images of the boy's bedroom where police found a replica Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS)-style cap, a full-sized skeleton with a mask, and posters relating to The Base.

The defence had told jurors the boy denied "he ever actually intended to carry out any act of terrorism" and they needed to consider his life experience.

Counter Terror Policing North East A view of the corner of the accused's bedroom. Military clothing is hanging on the back of the door, a poster with historical Nazi propaganda on it hangs on the wall and a large weapon and plastic skeleton wearing a mask are in the foreground. There is also a green and white flag hung sideways between the door and the skeleton.

Police said the teenager, who was 15 at the time he was arrested, was part of extreme right-wing online chat groups on platforms such as Telegram, Snapchat, TikTok and Wire.

Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "This case provides a stark reminder around the dangers of extreme content online that is accessible to the public and how individuals can be drawn into serious offending."

The defendant told the court he created an online persona to escape reality and his use of online platforms and social media escalated through his childhood.

"Caution firearm" and a magazine below it. To the side is an 'L' shaped grey ruler indicating its size.

The jury heard the banned group the boy joined, The Base, believed in race war and wanted to bring about the collapse of society to create a "white supremacist utopia".

Steven Rai, from research and advocacy group Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said it was not the only case of a minor being connected with the organisation, with young people also being arrested in Italy and the Netherlands for membership.

He said: "I think it is a very alarming sign of how youth are being increasingly drawn to some of these extremist networks."

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