Terror accused: Call of Duty sparked my interest in the Nazis
A MAN accused of planning a Right-wing terror attack on a mosque yesterday told a court he had developed an interest in Nazism while playing computer game Call of Duty.
Sam Imrie, 24, told jurors he had been ‘living like a 12-year-old’ at the time, ‘drinking every day’ and ‘trying to offend people’ online.
He also said he started hating Muslims after reading extremist political posts on website 8Chan.
Imrie told the High Court in Edinburgh he studied content on the site, which he said gave far Right explanations for Islamic terror attacks.
He said this information led him to access ‘manifestos’ written by Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant.
Imrie said he went on to download ‘tens of thousands’ of far-Right images including a video made by Tarrant of him killing dozens of people at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Asked by his lawyer, Jim
Keegan, QC, if he came to idolise Breivik and Tarrant, Imrie replied: ‘I think, in some ways, maybe.’ Asked how he idolised Tarrant, Imrie said: ‘He just mass murdered people and he made it look like a big joke and that was how I was living my life.’
Imrie also told how he stopped going to school after being assaulted, aged 14, and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said he spent most of his time playing computer games on his Xbox. Imrie told the court after playing Call of Duty he became interested in the
Nazis. He said: ‘I wanted to see what their perspective was so I started searching for information about their point of view.’
Imrie said that this took him to 8Chan. He said his interest in the site coincided with terrorist attacks linked to Islamic extremism.
He added: ‘I just wanted to find like-minded people who were questioning about why it was happening and why nobody was speaking about it.’
Imrie said he was later involved with a group, FashWave Artists, on messaging app Telegram, where he posted far-Right images. Mr Keegan said some messages from Imrie stated he was going to set fire to Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes.
Imrie told the court he was pretending to fellow users in the group that footage showed him burning down a mosque. He said: ‘I just wanted to put it online and shock them. I wanted something to do in my otherwise boring life.’
Imrie, of Glenrothes, denies terrorism and other charges. The trial, before Lord Mulholland, continues.