Derbyshire man jailed after inspiring US mass shooting
19-year-old Daniel Harris posted extreme right-wing videos to the internet.
Last updated 27th Jan 2023
A man from Glossop has been jailed after inspiring US mass shooting which resulted in the death of ten people.
Daniel Harris produced videos that called for armed insurrection and glorified the crimes of white supremacist mass murderers.
A sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday heard videos he produced were shared online by Payton Gendron, who has pleaded guilty to a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and linked to Anderson Lee Aldrich, the only suspect in a shooting at a gay bar in Colorado.
Joe Allman, prosecuting, said a video created by Harris, referring to Brenton Tarrant who carried out the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, was shared online by Gendron in January and February last year.
Mr Allman said: "The prosecution maintain that Mr Gendron was inspired by Mr Harris' material."
The court heard on one of Harris's videos, which referred to Tarrant as an "Australian saint", an unknown user commented: "This video has moved me. I was on the fence, now I am committed to my race."
A reply from Gendron's username said: "You are not alone my friend."
Gendron has pleaded guilty to murder and hate-motivated terrorism charges after 10 black shoppers and workers were killed at a Buffalo supermarket in May last year.
Mr Allman said information about links between material posted by Harris and Aldrich came to light after the Club Q shootings, which happened in November while Harris was on trial.
He said Harris's video was posted on the "brother site" to a website with links to what appeared to be a livestream of Aldrich preparing to carry out the attacks, in which five people were killed and 25 were injured.
Mr Allman said: "The Crown say it demonstrates that individuals of the greatest concern have accessed the material produced by Mr Harris."
Harris had attempted to use a 3D printer to create parts of a firearm, the court heard.
James Walker, defending, said: "Daniel Harris is pragmatic enough to realise there is very little that can actually be said by way of mitigation."
He said the defendant was withdrawn from mainstream school at seven.
He said: "There have been quite disgraceful failings by both his family and the local authority."
He told the court Harris, of of Lord Street, Glossop, had refused to be assessed for autism but it was clear there were "ongoing social problems".
In November, when the jury found him guilty, CTP EM Detective Inspector Chris Brett said: “Due to his age and previous offending, we initially attempted to engage with Harris through the Prevent programme, but it soon became clear he was pretending to be deradicalized whilst encouraging terrorism online. The threat he caused meant we had to act in order to ensure the safety of the wider public.
“I’d like to thank our team of dedicated and skilled colleagues involved in this complex investigation into an individual who, in the videos that he produced, clearly demonstrated a distain for law enforcement and public order, as well as an admiration for those who had committed atrocities in terrorist attacks overseas.
"By posting these videos online, Harris’ toxic rhetoric could have had untold influence on countless people across the world. Such actions will not be tolerated.
“In a search of Harris’ house, the rather chilling discovery of attempts to make component parts of a firearm printed from his 3D printer, showed a clear intent to create a deadly weapon.”
Today (January 27), Harris has been sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison, and will serve another 3 years on licence following release.
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