Guilty verdict for man charged with terrorism offences after stockpiling neo-Nazi memorabilia and downloading bombmaking and knife-fighting guides
A man has been found guilty of three charges of possessing information useful for terrorism after stockpiling neo-Nazi memorabilia and downloading guides to bombmaking and knife-fighting.
Nicholas Brock, 53, who reportedly has tattoos of prominent Nazis and symbols, had a flag showing an eagle and swastika on his bedroom wall and a Nazi badge in his drawer, as well as other symbolic neo-Nazi items. The material was found in a raid on his home in Maidenhead as part of an unrelated investigation in which he was never charged. Further material was found on electronic devices, as well as flyers for the National Front, a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and books about the Ku Klux Klan.
The prosecutor told Kingston Crown Court that his room was “filled to the brim with an eclectic mix of items, amongst them, items demonstrating an interest in extreme right wing and white supremacist ideology.”
The hard drive contained images of Mr Brock posing with swastikas and other items, as well as two manuals for an AK47 assault rifle and others for US army pistol training and explosives. There was also an “al Qaeda manual”. Among the documents were three that reportedly are useful for terrorists.
According to the prosecution, he had “no legitimate reason for possessing such information. He is not, for example, an academic, or a self-defence specialist. These are not everyday items or collectable memorabilia, but publications which contain detailed advice on how to create explosive devices, on how to kill and how to maim. They may of course be of use to someone planning any kind of violent attack; and they would certainly be of use to someone planning a terrorist attack.”
Sentencing is expected in May.Campaign Against Antisemitism’s analysis of Home Office statistics shows that an average of over three hate crimes are directed at Jews every single day in England and Wales, with Jews almost four times more likely to be targets of hate crimes than any other faith group.
Image Credit: Counter Terrorism Policing South East
