Neo-Nazi guilty of terror charge after MI5 sting

A neo-Nazi has been found guilty of preparing terrorist acts after compiling a list of "race traitors" and trying to buy a gun.

MI5 officers lured Alfie Coleman, 21, into buying a Makarov pistol and ammunition in September 2023, and arrested him immediately after he picked up the weapon from a Land Rover in a car park in east London.

Coleman, from Great Notley, Essex, was convicted following a retrial after the jury in the first hearing at the Old Bailey failed to arrive at a verdict.

The court heard how he was a far-right "militant accelerationist" who believed in fighting a race war.

Prosecutors described how Coleman, then a teenager, had spent the Covid lockdown immersing himself "in an extreme right-wing world while looking to arm himself with weapons openly advertised on the internet, such as knives".

He downloaded various documents to his phone including a version of The Anarchist Cookbook, an illegal manual that includes instructions for making improvised explosive devices.

Coleman, who had trawled the internet for extreme right-wing material from the age of 14, also penned a "manifesto" in a diary and identified potential targets, including the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque.

However, he was caught after undercover officers from MI5 engaged with him in encrypted chat as he sought to buy weapons.

Their "highly sophisticated operation" culminated in a sting at a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, on 29 September 2023.

Jurors saw dramatic video of Coleman dropping £3,500 in a Land Rover and picking up a holdall containing the gun, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition from the boot, before officers swooped on him.

Coleman remained impassive in the dock as the court heard how he also had a copy of a "manifesto" written by Dylann Roof at home.

Roof had written this "overtly racist" document before mounting a murderous attack at a church in South Carolina in 2015, killing nine people.

Searches of the home Coleman shared with his parents and sibling also uncovered a rock with a swastika in his bedroom and a flag associated with neo-Nazism on the wall.

His plans for attacks included putting explosives in a cash machine, hijacking a plane and using knives and crossbows.

Prosecutor Nicholas de la Poer KC described the fantasies as "seething with hatred".

He told the court that two days before Coleman was due to pick up the Makarov, he wrote: "Something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet."

The same day, Coleman ordered a Gerber Strongarm knife with a 4.8in (12cm) blade online.

Giving evidence, Coleman described being lonely and suffering with his mental health during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

He described the race traitors document as being "a list of people who, where I worked, were very rude to me", adding he had become "pretty desensitised".

The court heard how he repeatedly messaged contacts on neo-Nazi groups on Telegram to set up the purchase of a gun.

But, under cross-examination, Coleman said "talking about it doesn't mean the thing is going to happen", adding he "eventually fell for a trap".

He had admitted attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but denied he was preparing for a terrorist attack.

He was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at the Old Bailey on 8 July.

Cdr Helen Flanagan, head of the Met Police's Counter-Terrorism Command, said: "Coleman was an extremely dangerous individual, who was planning a lethal terrorist attack.

"Were it not for the incredible work of our officers, in close liaison with our colleagues from MI5, this could have had a very different outcome."

She said he had developed "a plan and intention to kill members of the public".

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