Trial of North East teenager on terror offences continues.
The 18 year old wanted to blow up police stations and researched how to make dynamite
The trial of a North East teenager at Teesside Crown Court trial for alleged terror offences continues today. (Wed 4th May)
Yesterday (Tues 3rd) a court heard how Luke Skelton was referred to the Prevent anti-terror programme due to his extreme right-wing views and he carried out "hostile reconnaissance" of a police station he considered targeting, a court has heard.
The 18 year old, who was said to have racist, sexist, homophobic, antisemitic and Islamophobic views, denies preparing to commit acts of terrorism over the year to October 2021.
The Gateshead College student, from Oxclose, Washington, Tyne and Wear, took photos of Forth Banks police station in Newcastle last September, Teesside Crown Court was told.
Nicholas de la Poer QC, prosecuting, said the purpose was to carry out "hostile reconnaissance" and the site was one of three police stations he considered as potential targets.
Demonstrating the defendant's mindset in the run-up to the event, Mr de la Poer said: "Luke Skelton believed in an extreme right-wing ideology.
"An ideology which lionised Adolf Hitler.
"An ideology which approved of the terrible attack on a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand.
"An ideology which is racist, sexist, Islamophobic and antisemitic.
"An ideology which sees violence as a way to achieve political objectives and notoriety."
The prosecution anticipated that Skelton, who has autism, may try to say his views were merely trying to shock or because he was bored, but the Crown will argue that he was planning acts of terror.
Concerns were raised at the college about images in his workbook and Skelton told a tutor he had strong views about immigration and held right-wing views, the court was told.
He was referred to the Prevent programme, aimed at de-radicalising him, and had eight sessions with an intervention provider, his caseworker, before he turned 18 and disengaged from the service.
In January last year he researched how to make dynamite and also started writing a so-called "final note" on his phone, intended to be read by others after something had happened, the jury was told.
Mr de la Poer said: "He states the purpose of the final note is to 'clarify the reasoning for why I have committed these acts is to accelerate the coming collapse and racial war'.
"It is expected that the war will lead to people dying 'in the thousands'.
"The hope Luke Skelton is expressing is for his act to spark this war."
An expert on right-wing extremism will explain that Skelton's "final note" could have been influenced by his admiration for the terrorists Anders Brevik and Brenton Tarrant, the prosecution said.
Anti-terror officers first arrested Skelton last June, leading him to change his username for an online group to "Adolf Hitler" - "so the police don't suspect me", he told Discord users.
Skelton was told he faced no further action, after being held on suspicion of possessing documents useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, leading him to tell followers he felt like a coward as he had not done anything yet.
In the following days he downloaded a video of the Christchurch mosque atrocity and edited the Friends theme tune over it, with the prosecution claiming that the "I'll be there for you" lyrics suggested a kinship with the mass murderer.
Skelton also wrote the recipe for an explosive in the notes section of his phone, the jury was told.
He talked online about murdering rape gangs and attacking a drag queen, Mr de la Poer said.
Last August he wrote a note on his phone about bombing a police station, and the prosecution said this could have been motivated by his anger at being arrested, for political reasons, or antisemitic conspiracy theories about the police.
He was arrested for a second time in October and later charged with a terrorist offence.
The following day police found a piece of A4 paper on him on which he had written a speech expressing his fascist views, Mr de la Poer said.