Man who gave talk on “Holocaust lies” and kept gun by his bed jailed for seven and a half years
A man who published videos of Adolf Hitler and kept a gun by his bed has been jailed for seven and a half years.
Alan Madden, 65 from Port Sunlight in Merseyside, was said to have kept the semi-automatic pistol in his bedroom in case of a “complete breakdown in society”.
During a raid of Mr Madden’s home in September, Counter Terror and Merseyside Police discovered a Czech-manufactured firearm in a box alongside 384 rounds of ammunition that included prohibited hollow-point bullets.
Mr Madden admitted to officers that he knew both the weapon and ammunition were illegal in the United Kingdom, and had smuggled them in from South Africa, where he purchased them legally.
Mr Madden was found to have published videos of Hitler on through his account on Bitchute, an online video platform often favoured by members of the far-right, in which Jewish people were called “liars” and a “satanic power”. He also posted the manifesto of the Christchurch mosque shooter, Brenton Tarrant.
Additionally, Mr Madden was found to have copies of books by Hitler and Oswald Mosley, and a search of Mr Madden’s electronic devices uncovered that he had delivered a talk in Chester called “Adolf Hitler, the Jew and Holocaust Lies”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how, in a 2017 e-mail, he referred to the neo-Nazi terrorist group National Action as “the real deal” and “commendable”. National Action was proscribed by the British Government following repeated calls by Campaign Against Antisemitism and others.
Mr Madden pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited firearm, possessing prohibited ammunition, two counts of possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate, three counts of possessing an offensive weapon in a private place and possession of a flick knife. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of stirring up racial hatred.
Sentencing Mr Madden to seven and a half years in prison, Judge David Aubrey KC said: “[National Action] is a neo-Nazi group and you aligned yourself to its beliefs. Such propaganda disseminated by you via social media featured extremely violent imagery and language.”
Detective Superintendent Andrew Meeks, Head of Investigations for Counter Terror Policing North West, said: “Madden had in his possession a 9mm hand gun and significant quantities of ammunition which is a concern to law enforcement and the communities of Merseyside. He also admitted inciting racial hatred and holding extremist views which presented him as a threat to wider society. The gun and ammunition have now been taken out of circulation and will be destroyed.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism closely monitors the far-right, which remains a dangerous threat to the Jewish community and other minority groups.
Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing North West
