Neo-Nazi with history of disseminating antisemitic material sentenced to four years in prison after admitting terrorist charges
A neo-Nazi with a history of disseminating antisemitic material has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison after admitting terrorist charges.
Luke Hunter of Newcastle was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on 23rd December after admitting seven charges of encouraging terrorism and disseminating terrorist publications.
Mr Hunter, who is 23, was reportedly tied to the neo-Nazi Feuerkrieg Division, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation.
According to Hope Not Hate, Mr Hunter apparently “produced hundreds of hours of podcasts, multitudes of graphic designs, and dozens of stylised fascist videos” which were disseminated across his websites, numerous Twitter accounts, YouTube, Instagram, Discord and Telegram, on which he had over 1,200 subscribers. Among the posts were material promoting the murder of Jews, non-white people and homosexuals.
A raid on his house – part of a wider investigation into neo-Nazi activity – reportedly revealed Nazi memorabilia, white supremacist texts, military training manuals and guides on guerrilla warfare.
Detective chief superintendent Martin Snowden, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, reportedly said: “Hunter invested a lot of effort in maintaining his website, his online presence and his status among like-minded individuals. He saw himself as an influencer and even sought to widen his following by speaking at a right-wing conference in the UK. These actions are not simply the result of a young person simply seeking to explore and express their social or political views. Hunter promoted neo-Nazism to the widest possible audience and was reckless about the consequences.
“Through his pleas, Hunter accepts he was responsible for the hateful posts on his accounts, posts which glorified terrorism, promoted killing techniques and encouraged the killing of Jews, non-white races and homosexuals.
“Luke Hunter represents a threat to our society, not simply because of his mindset, but because of the considerable lengths he was prepared to go to in order to recruit and enable others in support of his cause.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism has been monitoring and acting against the threat from the far-right for years and continues to urge the Jewish community to remain vigilant and welcomes the seriousness with which the police are treating the danger posed by the far-right.
Image credit: Counter Terrorism Policing
