A schoolboy has been found guilty of terror offences after joining a banned far-right group and researching a synagogue, encouraged by Russian extremists.
The boy, who was 15-years-old at the time, was unanimously found guilty of possession of terrorist documents, dissemination of terrorist documents and membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation.
The jury was unable on Monday to reach a verdict on whether he prepared acts of terrorism after the teenager, who is now 16 and cannot be named because of his age, said he was playing an online “character” and never intended to go through with his plans.
The CPS said in court that it would not be seeking a retrial on the more serious charge.
After he was arrested at his father’s home in a village in Northumberland – where he lived after his parents split up – police found a series of entries from a journal in which the teenager wrote about pupils at his school.
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“I swear to God I just hate my f***ing school,” the court heard he wrote. “I want to do horrible things to the people in my school. Some of them should be shot.”
On the same page, the boy ranked mass murderers with the neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Breivik topping his list, Leeds Crown Court was told.
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Officers also found a “to-do list” of weapons and explosives after the arrest, and that the boy’s bedroom was adorned with white supremacist flags.
Michelle Heeley KC, prosecuting, told the jury that the youth had “an arsenal worthy of any young right-wing terrorist” and his diary and social media messages were the words of a teenage boy “filled with hate and racism”.
She added that he was “building up to real life action” and had a GoPro camera in order to livestream the attack like other mass killers.
Speaking during the trial, the boy said: “I felt like I was getting addicted a bit. It didn’t feel like real life, it was a completely different world. I didn’t really know how to stop. It felt exciting.”
He previously also told the jury that he joined in with racist conversations on Snapchat and shared “gore” videos showing beheadings because they were “going around” and he wanted to “fit in”.
Jurors were told the boy had joined far-right groups on Telegram as early as 2023, and had researched a Newcastle synagogue, electrical substations and mobile phone towers.
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Russian told boy ‘we’re willing to help’
The court also heard that the boy’s activity escalated after he messaged a group called The Base – a proscribed terror group which encourages followers to carry out acts of violence in order to ignite a race war – on Telegram in August 2024.
In February last year, a Russian user, who was claiming to be the leader of The Base, was urging the youth to take action, saying “we’re willing to help you”.
The Russian user also told him in a separate message: “Brother, do not have doubts. You are doing a benefit, a good deed for your community…
“You are a warrior, brother, and we are very proud of you. We will help you with everything you need because you are a part of us, of the brotherhood.”
Frida Hussain KC, defending, told the court that the boy was “desperately lonely”, had been “plagued” with thoughts of killing himself, and created an online persona as a distraction.
During the trial, Ms Hussain asked him: “Writing in these terms about harming other people, was this anything you wanted to do in reality?”
The boy replied: “Just thoughts in my head. I never intended to harm anyone.”
Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, warned parents: “This case provides a stark reminder around the dangers of extreme content online and how individuals can be drawn into serious offending.”
He recommended a website for called Internet Matters which provides practical advice on how to help children.
Judge Mr Justice Wall said the teenager will now be sentenced in Leeds on 27 March.
