Viking enthusiast from Watford claimed to be member of Wagner paramilitary group
Piotr Kucharski, 49, from Watford, has been jailed - after he made threats towards other attendees of a Viking battle re-enactment in Suffolk - while wearing combat gear displaying Wagner Group insignia
A man has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison after attending a combat re-enactment event in Suffolk and claiming to be a member of the proscribed Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Piotr Kucharski, 49, from Watford, made threats and gestures towards other attendees while wearing combat gear displaying Wagner Group insignia.
Kucharski attended the Viking combat event on 28 October 2023, despite previously being banned. According to witnesses, he became increasingly aggressive, brandishing a knife, making a throat-slitting gesture, and claiming he had fought for Wagner in Ukraine. He repeated these assertions in Facebook posts and private messages, where he also shared images of men in military attire holding weapons, implying he was one of them. In one exchange, he asked a contact, “are you ready?” with a link to an article about Wagner’s designation as a terrorist organisation.
Police were called to the scene, where Kucharski was initially arrested by Suffolk officers for public order offences and possession of a blade. After noticing the Wagner insignia sewn onto his clothing, officers escalated the investigation, and Kucharski was subsequently charged under terrorism laws. The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) took over the case, uncovering that Kucharski had gone to considerable lengths to convince others of his involvement with Wagner. He later admitted during a police interview that he purchased the badges and claimed to have fought for the group to “provoke a reaction” due to differing opinions regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In court, Kucharski faced charges of professing to be a member of a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000. He pleaded guilty at a Central Criminal Court hearing on 16 August 2024, where he appeared wearing symbols associated with extreme right-wing ideologies and white supremacy.
Frank Ferguson, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, commented on the case, stating: “Piotr Kucharski claimed to be fighting for the Wagner Group as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and aggressively threatened people with a knife, acting upon his extremist views and the reputation of a terrorist organisation to cause fear in others.” He added, “The CPS will always seek to prosecute those who support terrorism in any way.”
The court sentenced Kucharski to two and a half years in prison. Upon release, he will be subject to license conditions for one year and required to comply with terrorism notification requirements for a decade.