UK soldier in neo-Nazi case ‘was preparing for race war’
A BRITISH soldier accused of being a member of a banned far-Right terrorist group stockpiled daggers, machetes and knuckledusters at his Army home in preparation for a ‘race war’, a court heard.
When Lance Corporal Mikko Vehvilainen, 33, was arrested, police found a cache of weapons and Nazi flags, while an SS ceremonial dagger and Swastika bunting were found at another address, the jury was told. Vehvilainen, an Army trainer, is accused of being a member of banned neo-Nazi group National Action, along with fellow soldier Private Mark Barrett, 25, and a 23-year-old man who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Birmingham Crown Court was told he had drafted a copy of a magazine called Extinction in which he wrote about creating ‘all-white strongholds’. In the document, he is alleged to have urged members of National Action to be ‘prepared to fight and die for your race in a possible last stand for our survival’. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said: ‘The lists, and indeed the substantial quantity of weaponry recovered from his address, revealed and speak of his intention to stockpile weapons and other equipment in preparation for the “race war” that he spoke of so often.’
Outlining the moments after Vehvilainen’s arrest at service family accommodation at Sennybridge Camp, Powys, the QC said police saw a swastika flag inside a cupboard. Mr Atkinson added: ‘He commented when the officers saw it: “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?”
‘Stockpiles of weaponry were recovered. The prosecution suggest that these items were found because Vehvilainen was putting into effect, quite literally, a call to arms to those like him who wanted to create a white-only society.’
Barrett, who served alongside Vehvilainen in the Royal Anglian Regiment, was detained at an Army base in Cyprus, on the same date last year. His effects were said to have included two National Action cards – one labelled White Jihad – and Nazi images. The defendants deny being members of a banned terrorist group. The trial continues.
‘Substantial quantity of weaponry’