Terror-trial teenager called massacre gunman a ‘saint’, court told

A TEENAGER suspected of terrorism offences praised the perpetrator of last year’s Christchurch massacre as a “saint”, a court has heard.

Birmingham Crown Court was told that the 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, believed in the “twisted ideology of Nazis and white supremacy” and joined conversations about mass shootings on right-wing chat forums.

The jury was shown censored footage of the Christchurch terror attack in which 51 people were shot dead, and were told the defendant had a recording of the killings on his phone “in graphic detail”.

The court heard he also had videos glorifying Anders Breivik – the Norwegian terrorist who shot 69 people on the island of Utoya in July 2011.

Prosecutors allege the Warwickshire teenager searched for information about where to buy a blank-firing gun and discussed how to convert it into a live-firing weapon. The jury was shown pictures which prosecutors allege were found on the defendant’s laptop – including one image with the caption “how to spot a criminal starter pack” next to pictures of a black man.

The court heard the teenager told members of a right-wing chat forum that “the fuhrer” had

“given me the go-ahead to start the first UK cell”.

Opening the case against the teenager, prosecutor Matthew Brook said: “In this case, the evidence will prove that he became radicalised so he fully believed in extreme right-wing ideology.

“That is the twisted ideology of Nazis and white supremacy.

He came to believe an ideology which thinks a race war is coming. An ideology which believes its followers should bring about a race war, should accelerate its start, so that the white race can become supreme.”

He said he called the perpetrators of attacks ‘saints’.”

The teenager, from Rugby,

Warwickshire, denies engaging in preparation of terrorist acts between July 20 and September 3 last year. He also denies nine counts of possessing a document containing information useful for a terrorist about home-made firearms.

The trial continues, and is expected to last four weeks.