A sixteen year old teenager from Newcastle who has been accused of plotting a terror attack on multiple synagogues in the area has been detained for three and a half years.
The defendant attended a hearing at Leeds Crown Court in January, where he was accused of preparing acts of terrorism – allegedly researching the synagogues in the Newcastle area – possessing terror documents and publishing terror publications, and being a member of a proscribed organisation.
Counter Terror Policing North East raided the teenager’s home and found a stash of weapons which included knives, an air pistol, rifles and a crossbow. In his bedroom police also found an SS-style cap, and his journal, where he had allegedly written “I want to do horrible things to the people in my school” and “Some of them should be shot.”
The teenager, who is not being named for legal reasons, was also accused of joining neo-Nazi group The Base – which was proscribed as a terrorist organisation and banned in 2021 – and had posters of the organisation decorating his room.
At the hearing in February, the jury were presented with images of the defendant’s bedroom which included the worrying material, and saw online messages between him and members of white supremacist groups.
The teenager has been convicted of five terror charges including those related to possessing or sharing terror documents, and being a member of a proscribed organisation.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on a further charge of planning a terror attack on Newcastle synagogues.
The sentence includes fifteen months in detention, as well as being supervised for another 26 months, and the teenager will also be subjected to a Criminal Behaviour Order, to restrict his access to social media.
