LOSER HERO OF THE HATE CULT
Warning over terror links to incels
Terror student Gabrielle Friel will be regarded as a figurehead for a sinister global movement who hate women for rejecting them, experts fear.
Researchers bel ieve the 22-year- old loner will inspire followers of the online male incel cult who blame females for their problems.
Incels – a shortened term for involuntary celibates – believe it is a man’s right to have sex with a woman.
Indonesia-born Friel was last month fou nd g ui lt y at the High Court in Edinburgh under the Terrorism Act of pos ses sing weapons including a crossbow, 15 bolts and a machete “for a purpose connected with the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism”.
The High Court i n Edi nburgh heard how he a dmi t t e d to having an “affiliation” with US incel El l iot Rodger, who killed six people in a s tabbing and shooting spree in California in 2014 before killing himself. He left a 141- page document that at tacked women and was quickly adopted as a martyr by the incel movement.
Incel experts have warned Friel is already being praised and sympathised with by extremist groups.
Investigative researcher Amy Iandiorio, of the US’s anti-hate group Anti-Defamation League, said: “This case involving Gabrielle Friel is really important as it identifies the problem as being linked to terror.
“It also identifies the problem as being linked to a process of online indoctrination.
Like other violent ideologies, incels idolise or name-check other incels who have attempted to or successfully carried out attacks.
“The glorification of v iolent a t t a ck s and perpetrators sets a dangerous tone and has led to people taking up the cause and committing their own attacks. The actual size of the incel population is unknown but the number could be as many as 100,000 people.
“Most incels do not resort to violence but there has been a growing number of cases where the online threats and targeted anger towards women manifest into suicidal or homicidal rage.”
Friel, of Edinburgh’s Comely Bank, was also charged with preparing for terrorist acts by researching spree ki l l ings, including those carried out by incels. However he was found not proven.
Lord Beckett remanded Friel in custody and ordered reports ahead of sentencing this month.
Terror expert Dr Colin Clarke, of US global security think-tank the Soufan Center, branded the incel movement America’s newest domestic terror organisation. He said: “We are
seeing incels all around the world now and Scotland is the latest place.
“In many ways, the authorities have had a far easier task to tackle terrorism in the last 20 years. It largely came via fundamental Islam. But now we have terror threats from a variety of different ideologies such as the far-right, far-left, anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists.
“It’s becoming an increasingly crowded field and one it is tricky to not only identify but to deal with. The incel movement shouldn’t be dismissed as losers who simply can’t get a girlfriend. We’ve seen that they can be extremely dangerous. People like Friel are often celebrated among the incel community.”
The incel movement’s origins are rooted in Canada in the 90s.90 DrD KaitlynKitl RRegehr, a senior lecturer in media and digital culture at Kent University, said: “It was started by a university student known as Alana as a relationship support group for isolated individuals.
“This online self-help support group morphed from offering a network of compassion to cope with loneliness to what it is now a platform of hatred, mostly directed at women and those in successful relationships.”
Pat Campbel l , Pol ic e Scotland’s Assistant Chief Constable for Organised Crime, Count er Ter ror i sm and Intelligence, said: “By working ef fectively together with partners, we will help safeguard individuals who have been identi f ied as vulnerable to radicalisation or susceptible to being drawn into terrorism or violent extremism.”