Nazi-worshipping extremists guilty of planning terror attacks
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard how Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were preparing to use the more than 200 weapons they had amassed, including machetes, swords, crossbows and an illegal stun gun.
Ringrose had also 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm at the time of his arrest and was trying to get the remaining parts.
The trio, who are not believed to have met in the real world before they appeared together in the dock of a court, were arrested when security services believed an attack was imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their online group, the court heard.
A nine-week long trial heard how the group idolised Hitler and the Nazis, shared racist slurs and glorified mass murderers.
On Wednesday, a jury rejected claims the defendants were fantasists with no intention of carrying out their threats and 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.
Pitzettu pleaded guilty to obtaining an illegal stun gun at a previous hearing.
The defendants will be sentenced on July 17.
The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, told them: 'You must all expect substantial custodial sentences'.
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5 days ago
- Scotsman
As a child of Holocaust survivors, I condemn Israel's atrocities against Palestinians
As a Jew whose parents and grandparents experienced the extreme racial hatred of the Nazis, Peter Stevenson explains why he feels a special responsibility to speak out against Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... My name is Peter Stevenson. But that's not the name I was born with. My parents, Jan Siebenschein and Edita Reich, came to Britain in 1939 as Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia. None of my grandparents survived the concentration camps. As a Jew with this particular background, I utterly condemn Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank. With what dark irony we have moved from being the oppressed to becoming harsh oppressors. We, with the memory of the Holocaust, are the last people on Earth who should inflict mass suffering on a whole nation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I recognise that many Israelis oppose their government's actions. And I understand the determination of 'never again' – never again will we let mass destruction engulf us. But this cannot justify inflicting profound suffering on others. A plume of dust and smoke rises after an Israeli strike on a camp for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip | AFP via Getty Images Rekindling hatred of Jews It is, moreover, entirely counterproductive. Each maimed, starving or dead child, each mourning family risks seeding hatred for Israelis, possibly for generations to come. Israel's attempts to achieve security are totally misguided and will rebound against it. 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Any government that subjugates huge numbers of people to harsh, authoritarian regimes which constrain their daily lives must recognise that their actions will periodically provoke – and be responsible for – uprisings by those they oppress. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad New West Bank settlements While the eyes of the world have been focused on Israeli atrocities in Gaza, settler violence in the occupied West Bank has been intensifying. Here Israelis have been attacking Palestinian residents, burning dwellings and vehicles. This has forced many Palestinians to flee their homes and land. The Israeli military sometimes either takes part in violent settler attacks or stands by, doing nothing to protect the Palestinian victims. The Israeli government recently announced that 22 new Jewish settlements have been approved in the West Bank – the biggest expansion in decades. Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967. Just last week, thousands of Israelis joined a state-backed march through the Old City of East Jerusalem, where large groups chanted racist slogans including 'Gaza is ours', 'death to the Arabs', 'may their villages burn' and 'your home will be ours'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I am a lawyer and fully agree with the recent letter signed by more than 1,000 lawyers arguing that 'genocide is being perpetrated in Gaza or, at a minimum, there is a serious risk of genocide occurring'. I am also inspired by the letter signed by 36 members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews that said 'the inclination to avert our eyes is strong, as what is happening is unbearable, but our Jewish values compel us to stand up and to speak out' and stressed that 'Israel's soul is being ripped out'. What are the Jewish values referred to in this letter? Core Jewish values include compassion and loving-kindness (chesed) and peace (shalom) between communities and nations. Also central is tikkun olam – repairing the world – and justice (tzedek); this includes treating others fairly and respecting their rights. Clearly Israel's actions in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are at complete variance with Jewish values. Israel on the wrong path Am I right to believe that, as a Jew born in the generation whose parents and grandparents experienced extreme racial hatred in the 1940s, I have some special responsibility to speak out against Israel's actions? I cannot talk for others but I increasingly feel the need to stress that the race who suffered so greatly during the Holocaust are the last people on Earth who should be inflicting extreme suffering on others. Violent, aggressive, uncaring of others – this cannot be who we are. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After the reading and research and thinking I have done to write this article, I have come to realise that what Israel has done and is doing is much worse than I had realised. Israel, you have taken a wrong turning. You may think you are building your nation's security, but you're not, you are undermining it, while ripping out your soul. We need a complete, fundamental realignment. The two-state solution in which a Jewish and a Palestinian state live peacefully side by side with security for both is favoured by many. An alternative would be one state comprising all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea – Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank – in which Israelis and Palestinians lived as equals with identical rights, and equal access to education, jobs, housing and health. Either way, as the current controlling and wealthy power, Israel will need to take the initiative. It must unravel the apartheid state that it has developed. It must commit huge sums of money to rebuilding Gaza and establishing high-quality educational and medical facilities in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of all, be it in a two-state or one-state solution. Only with a complete change of heart will Israel be able to reconnect with Jewish values and end the cruel cycle of violence and bloodshed.
