Walsall teen accused of terror offences had gunpowder ingredients and explosives manuals, court told
A 20-year-old man who allegedly amassed the ingredients for gunpowder and kept explosives manuals on an encrypted hard drive on his bedroom shelf told arresting police officers "I'm not a terrorist", his trial has heard.
Vaughn Dolphin, from Walsall, is accused of two charges under the Explosive Substances Act, six counts of having documents likely to be of use to terrorists, and two charges of sharing online material which could encourage terrorism.
He is also accused of unlawful possession of a firearm.
At the start of his Birmingham Crown Court trial on Friday, the prosecution said he had gathered the three key ingredients needed to make gunpowder, as well as recipes on how to make shotgun cartridges.
He is also said to have assembled homemade knives from templates he created, and had wire for a fuse.
Barrister Matthew Brook, opening the Crown's case, said: "Vaughn Dolphin was arrested by police officers from the counter-terrorism unit, who went to his grandfather's house - where he was that day.
"When arrested, the defendant said: 'I'm not a terrorist, OK?'
"'I am interested in chemicals and military memorabilia, that's all'."
He was arrested in Cheshire on June 27 2022, when officers also searched his home address in Walsall Wood Road, where he lived with his aunt, who the jury heard had raised him, and whom he called mum.
The Crown's barrister said: "Whilst there was military memorabilia present - all perfectly legal - the police also found much more and seized a lot of items.
"One of those items the police recovered was a USB stick."
On that electronic drive were encrypted document files which the prosecution said were "illegal to possess... unless you have a reasonable excuse".
Those files included a manual for how to build a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and an "automatic assault shotgun", a guide to arson attacks, including what parts of a building to target for maximum effect, a recipe for plastic explosive entitled "Homemade C4" and a copy of The Anarchist Cookbook, as well as another document, named "The Big Book of Mischief".
Mr Brook said the encrypted files were found in electronic folders with the name "Boogaloo", which he said was a "significant" fact.
"Because in right-wing circles Boogaloo often means civil war or a race war," added the prosecution barrister.
"A race war that white supremacist groups want because if they think there is a race war they can then rise up and take control."
Police searches of Dolphin's bedroom and address also uncovered the ingredients to make black powder - or gunpowder, jurors heard.
"The prosecution say there is a reasonable suspicion Dolphin had those items as he wanted to make black powder, for a gun," added Mr Brook.
Dolphin denies any wrongdoing and the trial, estimated to last four weeks, continues.
