Neo-Nazi ‘targeted Sadiq Khan'
A neo-Nazi allegedly plotted a knife and crossbow attack targeting the Mayor of London, a court heard.
Alfie Coleman was arrested by armed police in a Morrisons supermarket car park after he paid £3,500 for what he thought was a gun and ammunition to an undercover officer, the Old Bailey was told.
It was the culmination of a 'highly sophisticated operation' in which police and agents from MI5 snared Coleman after agreeing to sell him weaponry, jurors were told.
After he was arrested, police discovered an alleged plan for a potential terrorist attack identifying his initial target as the 'Mayor of London house'. The Mayor of London at the time was Sir Sadiq Khan, a position he still holds.
The plan also included the postcode of the Lord Mayor of London, who in 2022 was Sir Nicholas Lyons.
The court heard that Coleman 'idolised' Thomas Mair, the man who murdered Jo Cox, the late Labour MP, in June 2016.
Makarov pistol
Opening the prosecution case, Nicholas De La Poer KC said that Coleman had allegedly been speaking to several undercover officers for months prior to his arrest as he tried to buy a gun on various encrypted messaging platforms.
Mr De La Poer said an arrangement was eventually made with the undercover officer for the supply of a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.
Coleman was allegedly told they would be in a Land Rover Discovery in the car park in Stratford, east London.
On the morning of Sept 29 2023, the defendant left £3,500 in cash in the front passenger seat footwell and collected the bag of items from the boot.
But before he had gone 30 yards, he was confronted by armed counter-terrorism police and arrested, the court was told.
Inside the bag, he was carrying what appeared to be a handgun and around 200 rounds of ammunition, jurors heard.
Extreme Right-wing ideology
While planning a gun attack, Coleman had gathered terrorist information, carried out online research, and written a 'manifesto', jurors were told.
Mr De La Poer told jurors: 'The prosecution's case is that Mr Coleman believed in an extreme Right-wing ideology which included idolising the likes of Thomas Mair, the man who murdered the MP, Jo Cox.'
He believed in the 'the supremacy of white people and neo-Nazism' and collected a number of documents to help with his attack planning, the prosecutor said.
The court heard that the defendant had emailed Patriotic Alternative, the far-Right white supremacist organisation, in July 2021 saying he 'would like to start participating in activism'.
In June 2022, the defendant allegedly wrote a plan for a potential terrorist attack, which identified his initial target as the 'Mayor of London house' and included the postcode of the Lord Mayor of London.
The note also made reference to what appeared to be a plan to put explosives in a cash machine and listed weapons including knives and crossbows, the court was told.
In the event, the plans were abandoned as his thinking developed, jurors heard.
The court was told of a file titled 'you can't see me' containing another attack plan, this time to hijack a plane.
Mr De La Poer said that in the 'cold light of day' this plan appeared to be 'far-fetched and childish'.
France attack plans
In the summer of 2023, the defendant allegedly turned his attention to an attack in France and attempted to arrange the purchase of military-grade weaponry there.
In a 'diary' document, he allegedly explained he had picked France because it was close to 'all-out race war' and it was 'where I feel most useful and where I can create the biggest impact'.
Coleman never travelled to France due to practical difficulties, jurors were told.
Two days before he was due to pick up the Makarov and ammunition in Stratford, Coleman allegedly told an online contact: 'Just 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 4.8-inch blade online, the court was told.
Jurors were told that Coleman accepted he had a significant quantity of extreme Right-wing material and had pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents which contained information likely to be useful to terrorists.
He has also pleaded guilty to attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition.
Coleman, now aged 21, of Great Notley in Essex, has denied preparing acts of terrorism and the trial continues.
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