The trio were convicted of plotting terrorist strikes against mosques and synagogues and had built up an arsenal of more than 200 weapons – including machetes, swords, crossbows and an illegal stun gun
Three extremists who worshipped Nazi ideology were caught planning what prosecutors described as the first in a string of “escalating” attacks when police intervened, a court heard.
Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were convicted in May of plotting terrorist strikes against mosques and synagogues. Jurors at Sheffield Crown Court were told the men had built up an arsenal of more than 200 weapons – including machetes, swords, crossbows and an illegal stun gun – despite never having met in person before standing together in the dock.
At the time of his arrest, Ringrose had already 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm and was attempting to obtain the rest. A nine-week trial heard how the group idolised Hitler and the Nazis, shared racist slurs and glorified mass murderers.
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Opening a two-day sentencing hearing on Thursday, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said the three defendants were “followers of an extreme right-wing Nazi ideology”.
He said: “They justified, encouraged and glorified serious violence against and killing of persons of other races (who were) effectively seen as inferior and unworthy of human dignity or indeed life. On more than one occasion each of the defendants expressed hatred for and desire and willingness to engage in serious violence against people they perceived as enemies of their cause.”
Mr Sandiford told the court the men had all shown an interest in violent extremist material depicting mass killings, and by 2024, had gathered enough weaponry to cause serious harm. They were also trying to obtain more deadly arms, including firearms and improvised explosives.
The prosecutor said the trio styled themselves as an armed military group and that their behaviour escalated so that by early 2024 they were seeking further recruits. The court heard that in January and February they were planning their first attack, which was to be the “first of a number of operations escalating in nature” and had identified a target, which the trial heard was an Islamic education centre in Leeds.
Mr Sandiford said the defendants had an “intention to commit acts of extremism which involved killing of multiple victims”. He told the court Stewart had a leading role and appointed the other two to their roles as “armourers”, encouraging them to make or acquire firearms or explosives.
Sultana Tafadar KC, defending Stewart, said many of the chats referred to by the prosecution were “pure fantasy,” and added that the defendant had “unprocessed trauma” from the abuse and neglect he experienced as a child.
In mitigation for Pitzettu, the court heard he had shown a positive outlook and attitude in prison, while Ringrose was said to have withdrawn from the group before they were arrested.
The three men were arrested when security services suspected an attack was imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their online group.
In May, a jury rejected claims the defendants were fantasists with no intention of carrying out their threats. They found Ringrose, of Cannock, Staffordshire, Pitzettu, of Mickleover, Derbyshire, and Stewart, of Tingley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, guilty of a charge of preparing acts of terrorism – and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism. Ringrose was also convicted of manufacturing a prohibited weapon.
The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, will sentence the three defendants on Friday.
