A 17‑year‑old boy has been found guilty of multiple terror offences after joining a banned neo‑nazi terrorist group, collecting extremist propaganda, and researching a local synagogue as a potential target.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted at Leeds Crown Court of membership of National Action, the proscribed neo‑nazi group banned in 2016 under terrorism legislation.
Prosecutors told the jury that the teenager spent vast amounts of time online, where his radicalisation deepened.
Explosives
Much of the case rested on what police discovered during a raid on his home: improvised weapons, explosive materials, military-style clothing, handwritten notes, and a trove of digital devices containing extremist content.
According to the prosecution, the boy had embraced a worldview rooted in white supremacy, believing that white people were inherently superior and that other racial and religious groups were “inferior” and deserving of hatred. His fixation on antisemitic and racist propaganda was extensive.
He had first reached out to The Base, a neo-Nazi paramilitary organisation banned in the UK, when he was just 13. The group, the prosecution said, openly advocates murder, terrorism and the collapse of society through a race war, with the ultimate aim of creating a “white supremacist utopia” from the ruins.
The teenager expressed a desire to be part of a real-world extremist cell and indicated he was prepared to travel to take part in activities.
Terrorist attack films
Instead of spending Christmas Eve watching films, the court heard, he consumed videos of mass stabbings, school shootings and terrorist attacks.
“The prosecution case is that he was gathering weapons and identifying targets,” the court was told. On New Year’s Eve, he was searching for instructions on producing homemade ammunition and 3D‑printed firearms.
He had downloaded bomb‑making manuals, violent propaganda, and documents glorifying white supremacist terrorism.
Police also found evidence that he had researched a synagogue, including its location and security arrangements.
Evidence recovered followed his arrest revealed a deep-seated extreme right wing mindset. Items such as body armour, masks, flags and components for explosives were all seized, along with 22 weapons including knives, a crossbow and air soft rifles.
Officers downloaded 4.8TB of teenager’s messages and computer files, with a total of 253,005 messages. He was part of 25 extreme right wing online chat groups on platforms such as Telegram, Snapchat, TikTok and Wire.
Escalating risk
While no attack plan was uncovered, the court heard that the combination of ideological commitment, operational research, and possession of extremist manuals represented a clear and escalating risk.
The judge warned that the boy had been “deeply indoctrinated” and that his actions demonstrated a willingness to support violent extremism.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack but the jury failed to reach a verdict on this count. The CPS decided not to ask for a retrial.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
