Inside ‘armouries’ of extreme right wing trio convicted at Sheffield court of planning terror attack

Pictures show the piles of weapons and riot gear assembled by three extreme right wing men who were yesterday convicted on planning a terror attack.

Brogan Stewart, 25, of Tingley, Marco Pitzettu, 25, of Derby, and Christopher Ringrose, 34, from Cannock, were found guilty of a combined nine offences, following a nine-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

The group were arrested on February 20, 2024, by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, following an intelligence-led investigation that discovered the men were intent on carrying out an imminent violent attack.

The men were kept in custody and charged six days later with engaging in conduct in preparation for acts of terrorism.

Undercover operations by police and the National Crime Agency found the group were part of an online self-styled “militant” group.

Officers found the group was an echo chamber of extreme right-wing views where they shared horrific racial slurs, glorified mass murderers and encouraged violence against anyone deemed an enemy.

They idolized the Nazi regime, which was evident throughout their messages. The leader, Brogan Stewart, set out uniform, rules and necessary equipment for members. Pitzettu and Ringrose were named as “armourers”.

The trio discussed targets for harassment and attacks, including mosques, Islamic Education centres and synagogues.

The group also prepared for what they believed was an inevitable race war and sourced body armour, rations and a cache of weapons as part of their planning. Over 200 weapons were seized from the home addresses of the subjects, alongside riot gear, body armour and ration packs. The weapons included machetes, hunting knives, swords, and crossbows.

Pitzettu had obtained an illegal stun gun, contrary to the Firearms Act 1968, an offence which he pleaded guilty to prior to trial.

The group had also pursued acquiring a 3D printed firearm, of which Christopher Ringrose was convicted of manufacturing illegally.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley said: “Stewart, Pitzettu and Ringrose have today been rightfully convicted of multiple terrorism offences. They were a group that espoused vile racist views and advocated for violence, all to support their extreme right-wing mindset.

“Some of their defence in court was that it was all fantasy or just part of harmless chat, however all three took real world steps to plan and prepare for carrying out an attack on innocent citizens.

“Due to excellent collaborative work with our partners, we were able to infiltrate the group and arrest them before anyone was harmed.

“Counter Terrorism Policing work around the clock to prevent terrorism reaching our communities and we constantly advance our capabilities so that groups like this cannot hide.

“The public’s support is vital to our mission to keep people safe. If you hear or see anything that doesn’t feel right, trust your instincts and report it in confidence at gov.uk/ACT. You won’t be wasting our time. In an emergency, always call 999.”

See our gallery below of photos from inside the three’s homes released by the NCA showing the horde of weapons and riot gear collected by the trio,