Nazi-worshipping trio including man from Cannock were planning first of ‘escalating’ attacks, court told
Three Nazi-worshipping extremists convicted of terror offences were planning the first of a number of “escalating” attacks when they were arrested, a court has heard.
Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were found guilty in May of planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues.
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court heard how the trio, who are not believed to have met in the real world before they appeared together in the dock, were preparing to use 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.
In the first of a two-day sentencing hearing on Thursday, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said that 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 said each of the defendants showed an interest in material depicting mass killings, and by 2024 had acquired an arsenal of weapons capable of inflicting serious violence, and were actively seeking to acquire more deadly weapons such as 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, mitigating for Stewart, said many of the chats referred to by the prosecution were “pure fantasy”. She said the defendant had experienced abuse and neglect as a child and had “unprocessed trauma”.
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 trial heard the three men were arrested when security services believed an attack was imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their online group.
A nine-week trial heard how the group idolised Hitler and the Nazis, shared racist slurs and glorified mass murderers.
In May 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.
The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, will sentence the three defendants on Friday.
