Supporter of online Nazi group that planned Leeds terror attack is jailed

A Midlands man has been jailed for more than five years after he joined an online chat supporting plans for a terrorist attack in Leeds.

Claudiu Stefan Cristea, 47, was found guilty by a jury of possessing a terrorist document following a week-long trial at Leicester Crown Court.

Cristea was arrested in February 2024 as part of an operation by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East.

The investigation focussed on an extreme right wing online chat group called Einsatz14, in which individuals were suspected of planning a terrorist attack against a target in West Yorkshire.

Cristea shared racist and antisemitic views on the chat.

Three others from Einsatz14 , including Brogan Stewart of Tingley, who led the group and was calling for attacks on mosques, are to be sentenced next month.

When officers searched Cristea’s home in Queens Road, Leicester, they found a copy of “The Anarchist’s Cookbook” on a bookshelf. The book provides instructions on the manufacture of explosives, weapons and drugs.

He was later charged with one offence of collecting information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

He was jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “Cristea maintained that his interest in far right ideology was purely academic, but his involvement with the Einsatz14 chat group showed that was not the case.

“He shared racist and antisemitic views in that chat group with individuals who went on to plan an extreme right wing terrorist attack.

“Extremist material, whether it be online or in books, causes harm to people in the real world.

“If you come across material which you suspect may be terrorist or extremist, ACT Early and report it so we can stop the harm it spreads.”

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