Vaughn Dolphin told police: ‘I’m not a terrorist, OK? I have an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, that’s all.’ Photograph: West Midlands police/PA

A far-right extremist who experimented with explosives at home and built a crude gun has been detained for eight and a half years.

Vaughn Dolphin, 20, from Walsall, filmed himself in a gas mask surrounded by smoke after blowing up his kitchen in an attempt to mix explosives.

He was convicted last month of two charges of possessing explosives as well as several terrorism offences.

Dolphin was told he would be detained at a young offenders institution.

A sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday was told Dolphin was “a member of extreme right-wing groups holding extreme racist ideas”.

Dolphin’s trial the month before had heard that he claimed minorities “should be shot” and he had sought out extremist conversations online, engaging with chat boards.

A raid on his home uncovered a host of Nazi-related material and a “viable” gun made from a piece of aluminium tube.

He bragged about causing an “awesome fireball” in a series of selfie videos he posted to extremist chatrooms, communicating with white supremacists, jurors were told.

“Next time I’ll do this outside, but, ah well, you live and learn,” he said on one of them.

He also posted to chatrooms about creating a hand-held “cannon” and talked about mixing gunpowder.

Dolphin, from the Aldridge area of Walsall borough, additionally shared footage of terrorist incidents from around the world including a gun attack in Buffalo, New York, in which 10 people were killed by a white supremacists in May last year.

Sentencing on Thursday, Judge Melbourne Inman KC told him: “It’s an aggravating factor that you were in contact with a number of extremists” and had dealt in content featuring “an horrific recording of multiple murders”.

Paraphernalia found at Dolphin’s property “related to making items that could be used to kill or seriously injure people”, the judge added.

The offences were committed over a three-month period, the hearing was told.

Dolphin was convicted of six offences of possessing terrorist information, two of recklessly disseminating a terrorist publication, two of having an explosive substance and one of possessing a firearm without a licence.

BBC News

Teen’s ‘Pancake Recipe’ was in fact manual to make grenades and cyanide

A teenager collected manuals on how to make homemade grenades and cyanide and set up an online extremist group called “Tesco Waffen”.

Nicholas Street was aged only 16 when he created the “extreme right wing” channel on encrypted messaging platform Telegram and downloaded guides with apparently innocent names such as “Pancake Recipe”, but which were in fact instructions for the production of explosives, deadly chemicals, automatic firearms and silencers. The now 20-year-old – of Stockbridge Street in Everton – also praised the murderous actions of Brenton Tarrant, who carried out the Christchurch terrorist attacks.

Liverpool Crown Court was told today, Tuesday, that his home was raided by counter terrorism police on December 2, 2019. Street, who was described as having a “deep-rooted mindset” and “terrorist connections or motivations”, was found to have established the Telegram channel Tesco Waffen – an internet forum on which he and others with “the same mindset” shared a host of disturbing materials, including videos of the mass shootings in New Zealand.

When officers examined his laptop and phone, they discovered a seven-page document entitled “Pancake Recipe”. This was downloaded from messaging service Discord in June 2019, and gave instructions on how to make cyanide and ricin.

Another named “Poor Man’s Armourer”, which contained information on how to produce a silencer and “improvised hand grenades”, had been obtained via the internet in October of the same year and was subsequently distributed onwards by Street. A third file, “The Lightning Link”, meanwhile detailed how to manufacture a part which would enable an AR15 rifle to be converted into a fully automatic weapon.

A trial previously heard that the defendant “believed that it was only his fascist beliefs which were preventing him from taking his own life”, that there was a “white genocide taking place” and the “white race was being attacked and killed off” by a “Jewish elite who were controlling the government, media and banks”. Street was also said to believe that the Holocaust “did not happen and had been made up”.

Matthew Brook, prosecuting, told jurors that among the videos which were posted to the group was one entitled “Atom Waffen” – which featured American neo-Nazi James Mason and showed flags displaying Nazi symbols such as the swastika and the black sun. He also shared a clip of Adolf Hitler on a site called BitChute alongside the lyrics “I’m a believer”.

Street meanwhile kept a copy of Tarrant’s “manifesto”. He was said to “hold many of the same beliefs” as the terrorist, who shot and killed 51 people during attacks at two mosques in March 2019.

In one video on Tesco Waffen, the teenager praised the killer and painted him as an “extreme right wing warrior”. Street, who had a picture of the fascist leader Sir Oswald Moseley as his computer’s screensaver, posted a series of messages “calling for action” – including ones reading “tomorrow will arise another day of war”, “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” and “the time for talk has long since passed”.

The now “reformed Baptist”, who has no previous convictions, was seen holding his head in his hands in the dock during this morning’s hearing. Ruth Zentler-Munro, defending, told the court that her client had been diagnosed with ADHD and displayed “autistic traits” and added: “He has ceased his activity in relation to the online forum in which he was participating.”

Street was found guilty of encouraging terrorism by the jury, while he previously admitted three counts of possession of a document containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was handed 30 months in a young offenders’ institute, and will be required to serve at least two thirds of this term behind bars before becoming eligible for release on licence.

Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey KC said: “The common theme was of death and destruction. Much of it was abhorrent and despicable in the extreme.

“You had an obsession with extreme right wing ideologies. You are, in my judgement, a complex and challenging young man.

“There is no doubt you did have obsessive tendencies. It is of concern that you show little or no remorse or insight into your offences or the consequences.

“On the other hand, you have not committed any offence since the commission of these offences, and the court is mindful of the delay in this case. The court accepts you no longer have such interests and have now become a reformed baptist.

“Your disorders and maturity are factors in your offending, but they do not exculpate it. I am satisfied you no longer represent a risk of causing serious harm to members of the public by the commission of further offences.

“Your mindset at the time was deep-rooted. You have now, it would appear, put such obsessions behind you.”

Liverpool Echo

A far-right obsessed 15-year-old boy has admitted to filming himself assaulting three teenage girls before superimposing one video with a swastika.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, threw liquid in the faces of his victims in south-west London on May 18 and 26 last year.

He had pleaded guilty in the youth court to three charges of battery. He also admitted possessing a bomb-making manual and dissemination of a terrorist publication on the basis of recklessness.

The boy, from Isleworth, south-west London, further admitted having extreme pornography involving animals.

Today the case was brought before Mr Justice Jeremy Baker at the Old Bailey with the defendant represented but not present.

Prosecutor Paul Casey told the court that all six charges arose from an examination of the defendant’s computer.

He said: “There was a wealth of material of an extremist nature including far-right material, videos of people being subjected to harm and worse and some videos filmed by the defendant himself of him assaulting three teenage girls on two separate occasions, throwing liquid into their faces and filming himself doing so.

“The video recorded on May 18 2022 when it was recovered from his computer tower had been edited to mimic and replicate other videos of a far-right nature. There was a swastika superimposed.”

The court was also told that a psychiatric report had found the teenager suffers from psychosis.

Mr Justice Baker adjourned sentencing until May 26 at the Old Bailey.

ITV

Vaughn Dolphin, from Walsall, West Midlands, had spoken of his desire for ethnic minorities to be shot

Vaughn Dolphin told police: ‘I’m not a terrorist, OK? I have an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, that’s all.’ Photograph: West Midlands police/PA

A far-right extremist who accidentally set off a “fireball” in his own kitchen while experimenting with explosives has been convicted of terrorism offences.

Vaughn Dolphin, who had spoken of his desire for ethnic minorities to be shot, was found guilty on a series of charges after a jury viewed videos and incriminating conversations on social media.

In one self-filmed video, he was seen in a gas mask surrounded by a choking cloud of smoke after attempting to blend a blast mixture in a saucepan on a domestic hob.

Dolphin spoke of causing an “awesome fireball” in videos posted on far-right chatrooms, in which he complained: “Ah the bastard fucking mixture set itself prematurely, oh my God. Next time I’ll do this outside, but, ah well, you live and learn.”

When arrested in June 2022 at his grandfather’s home, the 20-year-old college student told police: “I’m not a terrorist, OK? I have an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, that’s all.”

Dolphin, from Walsall in the West Midlands, was convicted at Birmingham crown court on two charges of possession of explosives, including nitrocellulose, discovered during a raid on his home. He was also found guilty of having an unlicensed firearm that he had made from a length of aluminium tube and on terrorism charges.

An encrypted USB thumb-drive found on his bedroom shelf contained a series of DIY guides on constructing a shotgun, making homemade plastic explosives and conducting arson attacks.

The encrypted files were found in electronic folders with the name “Boogaloo”, which the prosecution claimed was a “significant” as it was used as a reference to “race war” in far-right circles.

Dolphin had also written on extremist channels on the social media platform Telegram of creating a handheld “cannon”, and about mixing gunpowder. He claimed he would do “something that would make [the Unabomber US terrorist] Ted Kaczynski blush”.

He had further ranted about his hatred of Muslims on one Telegram chatgroup and he was found to have a significant collection of material relating to the Nazis, including his own body armour in which he slid a plate bearing the symbol of the SS.

Others on the Telegram channels had warned Dolphin that he risked being arrested by the “Feds”, in what appeared to be a reference to the police. In response, Dolphin had said he would be safe as he had encrypted the incriminating material. He claimed he could argue that the explosive ingredients he had purchased were for “gardening” purposes.

Dolphin, who shrugged his shoulders while keeping his hands in his pockets as the verdicts were read out, will be sentenced on 11 May.

Ch Supt Mark Payne, the head of West Midlands counter-terrorism unit, said: “This was clearly a young man with a really dangerous mindset. I’ve got no doubt at all that his intent was to cause harm.”

The Guardian

An anti-drag campaigner who was part of a protest outside North Walsham Library against a Drag Queen Story Time has been convicted of hate crimes.

Christopher Mitchell, a welder who lives in Caister-on-Sea, has been sentenced to a 12-month community order.

He is required to carry out 20 rehabilitation days and 150 hours of unpaid work, and has been ordered to pay a fine of £1,500, Eastern Daily Press reported.

The conviction follows the 33-year-old taking part in a protest in August 2022 alongside other anti-drag activists, which saw North Walsham Library’s story time event by drag queen ‘Auntie’ Titania Trust cancelled.

Appearing at Great Yarmouth Magistrates Court on 12 April, Mitchell, who represented himself, denied sending threats, but had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of sending malicious communications.

The court heard that Mitchell revealed the real name of the drag artist, Joseph Ballard, in social media posts in which he accused him of “grooming children” – an age-old right-wing slur that is backed up by zero evidence.

Crown prosecutor Emma Pocknell shared that in a Facebook post, Mitchell had written that parents whose children were to attend the event at North Walsham Library “clearly have serious issues and should have their devices checked”.

Further evidence shared in court showed he had uploaded a YouTube video that included derogatory comments about Ballard.
Drag queen left ‘paranoid and fearful’ by anti-drag protest

Emma Pocknell noted that the posts had a “profound effect” on Joseph Ballard and were aggravated due to being considered hate crimes.

Following the protest, Pocknell shared that Ballard had been left paranoid and fearful of being targeted and required additional security when appearing in a later pantomime.

“I genuinely feared for my life and safety and others around me,” said Ballard, who claimed £9,000 compensation, including £6,000 for loss of earnings and £2,000 for extra security measures.

Titania Trust is a songstress and cabaret entertainer who has been performing for more than 10 years, according to her website.

‘Bigotry and hate is on the rise’

Joseph Ballard told PinkNews that when performing as Titania Trust, his story time is called ‘Storytime with Auntie Titania’, but clarified it isn’t part of the Drag Queen Story Hour franchise.

“It appears that bigotry and hate is on the rise,” he said.

“We have seen it with a rise in attacks upon the LGBTQ+ community and increasing transphobia in the media and politicians.

“I was targeted and used for the far-right self-claiming Nazis to forward their agenda of division and hate. They are targeting other drag artists who do similar things too.”

Ballard added: “We must stop them and do the right thing at every opportunity. We must speak out, be heard and show the goodness in the world.”

Ballard shared that has been “humbled” by the “love and support” he has received since last summer, adding that he was able to produce his own family pantomime at Christmas, which was his “first big appearance since everything”.

“The events of last summer haven’t stopped for any of us – but it’s not just at a library.

“Abuse is online and elsewhere too. I’m glad that some justice has come from this but there is so much more to do when it comes to changing attitudes and educating people.”
Anti-drag attacks surged in 2022

Drag Queen Story Hour, also known as Drag Queen Story Time, sees local drag queens visit schools and libraries to read to children, promoting inclusion and acceptance of the diversity in the world.

However, the far-right have consistently targeted the educational sessions, claiming they are “grooming children”.

In December 2022, a bar in Seattle was hit by gunfire ahead of a scheduled protest against the venue’s Drag Queen Story Hour and bingo night.

In the same month, LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD reported that there had been a horrifying 142 attacks on drag shows in the US in 2022, following repressive bills seeking to ban or restrict drag performances being proposed across seven US states.

Sadly, attacks on the drag community have continued in 2023. In March, a church in Ohio was firebombed with a Molotov cocktail ahead of its planned drag event.
‘The event became about something more than story time’

In the UK, drag artist Miss Peaches shared a “heartbreaking” statement after her story time event was cancelled due to threats of violence.

In December 2022, Miss Peaches said: “I chose to cancel because the event became about something more than a story time. It was overshadowed by a transphobic, queerphobic, bigoted hate campaign.

“I didn’t want children being faced with a mob of people holding signs. Kids being faced with a drag queen on one hand and an angry mob on the other.”

Pink News

William Lloyd-Hughes posted images of masked men clutching guns in front of Ulster Defence Association flags.

A former police detention officer who posted “racist content” and images showing apparent support of gun-wielding members of a Northern Ireland paramilitary group has been given a community order.

William Lloyd-Hughes, 27, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was handed an 18-month community order with two requirements at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Wednesday.

He previously pleaded guilty at the same court to publishing an image of two flags on September 11 2022 “in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion” that he was a “member or supporter” of the banned loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) terror group.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Gillian Curl said the image in question was a montage of four photographs, published as a tweet, depicting people in black balaclavas and military-style clothing brandishing firearms.

In two of the photos, the gunmen are posing in front of UDA flags and the montage was captioned “On God’s land where the PRODS stand”, Ms Curl added.

“Prods” is a term for a Protestant sometimes used in Northern Ireland, which in this context appeared to imply support for the proscribed paramilitary group, the court heard.

Lloyd-Hughes, who was based at Huddersfield Police Station as a civilian member of staff, also previously pleaded guilty to a charge under the Communications Act 2003 of sharing grossly offensive messages on Twitter on August 27 2022.

These “very offensive” tweets were “racist in their content and tone”, Ms Curl said.

The full details of the offence was not read out in court but the judge described the posts as “abhorrent” and “racist”.

Ms Curl added: “To Mr Lloyd-Hughes’ credit, he made a prepared statement when he was arrested and interviewed in which he immediately expressed remorse.”

Lloyd-Hughes, of Crosland Moor, told police he had limited knowledge of the history of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland and did not intend to post something that supported a banned terrorist organisation.

Lloyd Hughes, who was wearing a light blue shirt and dark tie and trousers, also told officers in December that the racist Twitter posts did not reflect his actual views, court documents show.

He “has an interest in the military” but did not realise they were UDA flags were when he posted the image, the court heard.

Lloyd-Hughes, who is degree-educated, was employed by West Yorkshire Police as a detention officer from February 2022 until he resigned in February this year after the criminal probe and an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog were launched.

The defendant, who is of previous good character, is now working in a kitchen at a local restaurant, the court heard.

Passing a concurrent community order sentence for the two offences, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring also imposed a 40-day rehabilitation requirement and said Lloyd-Hughes must complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay a surcharge and prosecutions costs totalling £199 within seven days.

The IOPC has said the charges followed an investigation it directed, carried out by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, into the messages after a mandatory referral from the West Yorkshire force last September.

Evening Standard

A man who threw lit fireworks at police officers during violent disorder outside a hotel accommodating asylum seekers has been detained.

Jared Skeete, 19, snorted ketamine in front of riot police and shouted abuse outside Suites Hotel in Knowsley on 10 February, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He threw numerous fireworks in front of around 100 protesters.

Skeete, of Liverpool, admitted violent disorder and was sentenced to three years.

The violence happened during a protest over alleged incidents related to hotel residents, which had been shared on social media.

Judge David Swinnerton said the scenes were “appalling” and “shameful”.

Sentencing Skeete, he told him: “Your role in it, there at the forefront, very close to the police line, throwing fireworks to them, hurling abuse at them, seeking to remove a shield from an officer therefore exposing him to violence and injury, wrestling with him for his riot shield, all of that is despicable behaviour.

“Those scenes of what you did bring shame on you.”

He added: “You goaded the police, you sniffed from your bag of ketamine deliberately in front of them and you were, throughout, shouting abuse at them.”

When arrested Skeete, of Irwell Close in Aigburth, denied being the person shown in the footage but then asked if he could have a copy of it for himself, describing it as “like a movie” and “brutal”, the court heard.

In a statement, PC John Thompson, who was hit on his arm and foot by objects during the violence, said he had suffered bruising and swelling and the incident had caused stress to him and his family.

Insp Ian Murphy suffered post-concussion syndrome following the disorder, the court heard.

Almost £85,000 worth of damage was caused to five police vehicles during the disorder, including a van which was burnt-out.

‘Mob mentality’

Peter White, defending, said Skeete had been socialising with friends on 10 February when he had been made aware of social media rumours which incorrectly accused a resident of the hotel of a serious offence.

He said: “He is a young man aged 19 who allowed himself to be caught up in mob mentality and used this as an opportunity to act in a thoroughly unacceptable manner.”

Skeete was not part of any right-wing organisation and was not involved in planning the disorder, he said, adding: “He was only there for the anarchy that resulted.

“He genuinely wishes to apologise for his actions.”

Det Ch Insp John Fitzgerald said the scenes were “completely reprehensible” and Skeete had “clearly played a role in the disorder” with his “dangerous actions”.

He said the group targeted the premises “causing fear and distress to those residents inside; and to the local community”.

BBC News

Gareth Anthony Brett of Poole was jailed for 12 months for sharing racist messages to stir up racial hatred for several months

A man from Dorset who anonymously shared racist imagery, anti-semitic messages and quotes by Adolf Hitler has been jailed after he sought to stir up racial hatred.

For several months, Gareth Anthony Brett used Twitter accounts and messaging app Telegram to share messages and material that was racially insensitive and divisive to his 2,000 followers on social media.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard how the 35-year-old from Poole fell into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and became engrossed with anti-semitism, shared offensive comments and images against anyone perceived to be of a non-Aryan and non-European descent and embraced the far-right communities of the internet.

Prosecutor Amy Packham told the court he used the Twitter accounts @europeanrising and @riseofTAS to share such material, as well as criticise immigrants and blamed Covid-19 as being “part of a global conspiracy”. She said: “The posts can effectively be categorised and summarised as generally anti-semitic posts being common throughout.

“Both accounts, the Twitter and Telegram accounts, had been set up for the sole purpose for this sort of material. It is not a personal account in Mr Brett’s name, the purpose of each of them is clearly to promote and stir up racial hatred because it is set up for that purpose.

“There are posts highlighting the physical traits of Jewish people, coupled with images and symbolism which is well known to be anti-semitic and anti-semitic views used by Neo Nazis. He also on that account documented that he had taken a sample of his own DNA to determine his heritage and he implied that he would take his own life if the results showed that he was to be even 1 per cent Jewish.”

Prosecutors and police officers were concerned his tweets were regularly being liked and retweeted by other users and becoming widespread. One offensive tweet attracted 131 retweets and 274 likes.

Judge Robert Pawson observed more of the evidence, where he pointed out contained a number of memes, imagery, sexist and racist language, as well as homophobic and sexist language. The court also heard that Brett would occasionally use his social media accounts to direct his followers to people who complained about his posts and also “general calls to Rise Aryans”.

Ms Packham revealed Brett used messaging app Telegram to share Adolf Hitler quotes, several extracts from Mein Kampf and views on white supremacy. She continued: “This was not simply Mr Brett finding material that he was attracted to and resharing it, he was creating images such a white man wearing a Swastika thumping on the back of a Jewish man with his mouth open against what is either a rail or a curb.”

Brett was investigated and later arrested by Dorset Police on January 28, 2021 and his accounts on Twitter and Telegram were suspended. Brett told officers that he didn’t dispute it was him who shared the material and claimed: “he was simply posting the truth and wanted to help people realise the truth about the world.”

Brett, previously of Lock Road in Poole, pleaded guilty to four counts of publishing written material to stir up racial hatred between May 29, 2020 and January 15, 2021 and accepted he breached bail. Judge Pawson questioned why it had taken 18 months to charge Brett and blamed the Crown Prosecution Service for their slow response.

Defending, Jonathan Underhill, said Brett accepted he wanted to plead guilty to the charges at the earliest opportunity, namely at Poole Magistrates’ Court. Referencing his pre-sentence report, Mr Underhill said Brett became engrossed in far-right communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said: “What is abundantly clear from this – Mr Brett may not thank me for phrasing matters in this way – but the probation officer views him as an isolated individual for whom Covid (pandemic) was particularly difficult and in which he found himself in an echo chamber. He starts out, as it was set out in the report, with conspiracy theories and aliens and very quickly found himself moving into far-right posts.

“He does accept through me that the nature of the posts that formed the basis of the charge goes beyond and outwith any genuine political view that he may have and fall into the realm of that which is illegal.”

Sentencing, Judge Pawson said it was clear that Brett should be imprisoned for his offensive social media posts and remarked judging people on their background is simply wrong. He told Brett: “You have in the course of previous hearings, it seems come to appreciate why what you were doing was criminal and why it’s so serious.

“Judging someone on the colour of the skin, their religion or their race or nationality is like you being judged on the basis of a Mancunian accent or having a beard. To judge someone on the basis of they’re a White European is, I hope you appreciate, mad.

“From what I have read your background has a reasonably objectively sad aspect to it. (You have) Lost contact with your mum, never known your father and drifting as a loner with no purpose.

“You have suffered with mental health issues and I know that because you have been prescribed medication for depression. The sadness is Mr Brett is for quite a long time, I do not know yet and I am not going to ask you whether or not you agree in relation in relation to this, but you just can’t judge people based on colour, religion and race and stip up racial hatred.”

Brett was jailed for 12 months and two weeks and ordered to pay a £156 victim surcharge.

Dorset Live

A RACIST who tried to murder a doorman by slashing his throat with a razor has been jailed for 28 years.

Geoffrey Ryan had been drinking at The Lounge in Braintree in the hours before the horror attack took place on September 9 last year.

The 53-year-old began to cause issues with other punters as his drinking continued and he was subsequently kicked out of the venue in Market Square at 9.30pm.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard he threw a drink over his victim’s colleague and, after an exchange, flicked a cigarette at him and threatened to kill him before walking off.

A hooded Ryan returned to the town centre shortly before 11.30pm driving a Seat Ibiza and parked in the nearby Sainsbury’s car park.

A jury was told how from there he walked to The Lounge and immediately approached the victim, 24, and used a razor to slash his neck.

He sustained a serious wound which required immediate medical care in order to save his life.

Judge David Turner KC said: “This was gratuitous, chilling and calculated violence which almost led to death.

“I am completely satisfied it had a significant and disturbing anti-Muslim flavour.”

Ryan, of Brick Kiln Way, Braintree, denied attempted murder and racially aggravated harassment but was convicted following a week-long trial last month.

The court heard the victim has been left with a “significant” lifelong scar as a result of the 3cm deep cut which ran from the victim’s right ear to the midline of his neck.

Judge Turner continued: “I have little doubt that you decided to return to show who was boss.

“The decision to return at all was troubling. The decision to take a razor was chilling as events were soon to confirm.

“Your conduct was ruthless and hideously, if briefly, violent.”

Ryan shouted and attempted to leave the dock before he was told he would spend the next 28 years behind bars.

He was handed an extended sentence, meaning he will spend an additional three years on licence when released from prison.

Ryan will serve at least two thirds of the 31 year total sentence.

Southend Echo