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Man denies attempted murder after serious attack outside The Lounge Bar in Braintree

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October 12, 2022
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He is set to stand trial next year

A man is set to stand trial after denying attempting to murder another man following an attack outside an Essex bar. Geoffrey Ryan is alleged to have tried to murder a man outside The Lounge Bar in Braintree.

The incident happened at around 11.30pm on September 9. The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries but thankfully they were able to be treated and he has since been discharged.

The area around Market Place was cordoned off by police as forensic teams investigated the scene. Essex Police made an appeal for witnesses following the incident.

Geoffrey Ryan, 53 of Kiln Way, Braintree was arrested and subsequently charged with attempted murder, possession of an offensive weapon and racially aggravated public order. He appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday (October 10) via video link where he pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and racially aggravated public order.

However, Ryan admitted possession of an offensive weapon. A trial has been set for the other two charges at the same court for 20 February 2023. Attempted murder can carry a lengthy prison sentence if a defendant is convicted.

Essex Live

Former BBC DJ jailed for stalking Jeremy Vine and others

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September 16, 2022
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Alex Belfield was found guilty last month after subjecting victims to ‘avalanche of hatred’

A former BBC local radio DJ has been jailed for five years and 26 weeks for stalking broadcasters including Jeremy Vine and subjecting his victims to an “avalanche of hatred”.

Alex Belfield, 42, was last month found guilty of waging a relentless stalking campaign against broadcasters, with Vine labelling him “the Jimmy Savile of trolling”.

Sentencing Belfield at Nottingham crown court on Friday, Mr Justice Saini told him: “Your offences are so serious, only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

The judge said that while Belfield’s actions were not “traditional stalking … your methods were just as effective a way of intimidating victims and in many ways much harder to deal with”.

He added there had been “no escape” for Belfield’s victims until bail conditions were imposed before his trial, and said he agreed with Vine’s characterisation that the ex-DJ had “weaponised the internet” against those he targeted.

He also ordered indefinite restraining orders be made against Belfield, in favour of his victims and four other individuals.

The trial heard Belfield had repeatedly posted or sent abusive messages, videos and emails to his targets and in recent years had set up a YouTube channel known as Celebrity Radio.

The BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith was left feeling suicidal by a “tsunami of hate”, the trial heard, while Vine, a Channel 5 and BBC Radio 2 presenter, described his abuse as “an avalanche of hatred”.

Jurors accepted Belfield had caused serious alarm or distress to two victims and he was found guilty of “simple” stalking in relation to Vine and the theatre blogger Philip Dehany.

Saini said a pre-sentence report showed that, while Belfield “fully acknowledges the distress to victims”, it also “highlights you still appear to focus on the impact on you and feel in certain respects you’ve been unfairly treated”.

Giving evidence in court, Vine said watching Belfield’s videos was “like swimming in sewage” and said: “It felt like I had a fish hook in my face and my flesh was being torn, and the only way to avoid further pain was to stay completely still.

“I was brought so low. I just thought: ‘There’s no point broadcasting if the effect is that I’ve got this’.”

Jurors convicted Belfield, of Mapperley, Nottingham, of four charges committed between 2012 and 2021.
BBC News

Tommy Robinson fined £900 for contempt of court

By
August 1, 2022
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English Defence League founder has 14 days to pay

Tommy Robinson has been fined £900 for failing to turn up at a High Court hearing to be questioned about his finances.

Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been expected at a hearing in March over an unpaid legal bill after he lost a libel case brought against him by a Syrian teenager last year.

Jamal Hijazi successfully sued Robinson after the then-schoolboy was assaulted at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in October 2018.

After the incident went viral, Robinson made false claims, including about Mr Hijazi attacking girls in his school, leading to the libel case.

Following a pre-trial hearing in November 2020, the English Defence League founder was ordered to pay more than £43,000 in legal costs.

Earlier this year, Mr Hijazi’s lawyers successfully applied for an order requiring Robinson to return to court to answer questions about his finances on March 22, but the 39-year-old failed to attend.

He was summonsed to court to face contempt proceedings in April and, at hearing on Monday, was handed a £900 penalty after admitting being in contempt of court.

Mr Justice Nicklin said: “I’ve decided to punish Mr Yaxley-Lennon’s contempt by imposing a fine.”

He added that Robinson now has 14 days to pay and could be liable to serve 28 days in prison if he fails to do so.

The High Court was previously told that Robinson was facing mental health issues at the time of the March hearing, which he claimed were a result of being harassed.

However, on Monday, Mr Justice Nicklin said: “Whatever psychiatric issues Mr Lennon had, they did not prevent him from coming to the hearing that he failed to turn up at.”

The judge later said Robinson had recently published a video asking for support, including the words “Don’t let them lock Tommy up again” and “Keep him free of the clutches of the corrupt establishment”.

Mr Justice Nicklin said he had decided to fine Robinson prior to seeing the video and that “it was never serious enough to justify a period of imprisonment”.

The High Court judge also noted that Robinson had legal aid for his barrister for Monday’s hearing, adding: “He was in no need for donations for his representation today, the state was paying for it.”

In June, Robinson appeared at the High Court to be questioned over his finances at the postponed hearing, where he told the court that, in a two-year period prior to declaring bankruptcy, he spent around £100,000 on gambling – largely in casinos.

Robinson was previously jailed after being found in contempt of court after he filmed men accused of the sexual exploitation of young girls and live-streamed the footage on Facebook, in breach of a reporting ban, outside Leeds Crown Court in May 2018.

He was sentenced to 13 months in jail after being found in contempt of court on the day of the broadcast but served just two months before being freed after that finding of contempt was overturned by the Court of Appeal in August 2018.

The case was then referred back to the Attorney General and he was jailed again in July 2019.

Following Mr Hijazi’s successful libel claim, Mr Justice Nicklin ordered Robinson to pay him damages of £100,000 and his legal costs, thought to be around £500,000.

The Independent

Scots far-right thug carved ‘fat’ into victim with knife before violent rape

By
July 25, 2022
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Michael Coyle stood for election to Westminster as the BNP candidate in Glasgow South in 2010, and as a National Front MSP candidate for Linlithgow.

Former soldier Michael Coyle

A Far-Right thug who stood as a BNP and National Front candidate in two elections is facing a substantial prison sentence for violently raping a woman and attempting to rape her teenage daughter.

A jury heard particularly distressing evidence that former soldier Michael Coyle humiliated his 39-year-old victim by using a craft knife to carve the word “s***” into her thigh; “w****” into her arm; “old” and “saggy” on her breasts, and the letters “FAT” across her stomach.

Tattooed Coyle, 40, who also rubbed the woman’s face against a rough wall leaving a burn-like mark on her cheek, was further convicted of wilfully ill-treating her children by forcing them to stand in a cold dark room for hours and of assaulting two of her sons by presenting a knife at them and hitting one of them on the face.

He was due to be sentenced at the High Court in Livingston on Monday after earlier being remanded in custody for background reports. However, when he appeared via a videolink from Addiewell Prison, West Lothian, the court was told that no-one had got in touch to interview him for a criminal justice social work report.

Coyle’s defence counsel Mark Stewart QC said: “No responsibility for that falls on Mr Coyle. He’s not been contacted. He’s anxious for the matter to proceed as soon as possible.”

Mr Stewart tendered two letters to the court in mitigation and said a new date for sentencing had been identified as 6 September at Edinburgh High Court.

Judge Alison Stirling, who earlier described the violent and controlling abuser’s case as “complex and harrowing”, adjourned the case until then.

She said: “It’s unfortunate the criminal justice social work report is not available. It was through no fault of Mr Coyle and, as far as I’m aware, it’s not the fault of the court either.

“I hope we can have that chased up and the report will be available when he appears in front of me again on 6 September in Edinburgh.”

Giving evidence against Coyle at his trial the mum-of-five told how he didn’t allow her to go out or see friends.

She said she was “on a stopwatch” any time she left the house with violent consequences if she returned late.

She claimed he raped her after accusing her of cheating on him when she returned home late from a girls’ night out.

She said he sent messages from her Facebook account to a photographer who’d taken her picture in a rock pub saying: “Did I flirt with you? I can’t remember.” Then asking if the stranger was interested in her.

Then, she said, as she was lying on the couch he started hitting her in the face with his manhood.

She told the court: “He was saying things like ‘This is what you want isn’t it, you little s***? This is what you wanted all night.’

“He kicked me in the stomach and then he told me to get back through to bed. I thought ‘That’s over’, but it wasn’t over.”

She went on: “He pushed me backwards onto the couch. He started doing that thing with his penis again saying that’s what I wanted and I was going to get it – I was going to get my wish.

“He started pushing my legs apart with his knees and I screamed but he just covered my mouth. I was on my back on the couch and he was pushing his forearm down into my face.

“He put himself inside me and he didn’t stop until he was finished. I couldn’t fight back.”

She said she once tried to flee from the house half naked but he rugby tackled her to the floor shattering her teeth so badly she lost four on one side of her mouth and two on the other.

Her daughter, now aged 18, testified that the car bodyshop worker of Livingston, West Lothian, sexually assaulted her when she was around 12 or 13 years-old.

She told how she woke up and found him straddling her, naked from waist down, and attempting to insert his penis into her mouth.

Coyle, who has had his name added to the sex offenders’ register, stood for election to Westminster as the BNP candidate in Glasgow South in 2010 and fought as National Front candidate to become a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Linlithgow constituency.

He failed on both counts.

Daily Record

Oxfordshire man, 18, pleads guilty to terrorism offences after uploading Neo-Nazi videos to the internet

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July 16, 2022
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He possessed videos which ‘glorify terrorism and which promote white supremacy throughout’

An 18-year-old Oxfordshire man has pleaded guilty to Extreme Right Wing Terrorism offences. Oliver Riley pleaded guilty to a number of charges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE).

Riley was arrested in October last year in Gloucestershire. He had uploaded several videos of a ‘neo-Nazi racist nature’ to the internet which breached UK Terrorism Act legislation.

He pleaded guilty to the following offences on Monday, July 11:

Three counts of possession of a document or record containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Providing a service to others that enables them to obtain, read, listen to or look at such a publication and intended, or was reckless, as to whether an effect of his conduct would be a direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006.

Sending by means of a public electronic communications network a message that was grossly offensive contrary to Section 127 of the Communication Act 2003.

Riley, of The Meadows, Watlington, was released on bail. He will be sentenced at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, on August 19.

Head of CTPSE Detective Chief Superintendent Oliver Wright said: “Riley has recognised that he committed these offences by being in possession of videos which glorify terrorism and which promote white supremacy throughout. Some of the harmful content Riley had promotes the separation of races by violent means, along with some particularly hateful content being directed at the LGBTQ+ community. These are serious offences and I am glad that he at least acknowledged these offences by pleading guilty.”

Oxfordshire Live

Neo-Nazi group teenager found with Nazi dagger, SS hat and Swastika armband

By
July 16, 2022
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Luca Benincasa, 19, is the first person to be convicted of belonging to the Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) since the far-right organisation was banned.

A “prominent member” of a banned white supremacist group has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences.

Luca Benincasa, 19, is the first person to be convicted of belonging to the Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) since the far-right organisation was banned in July 2020.

A Nazi dagger and Schutzstaffel (SS) officer’s hat were among items discovered in his bedroom in Cardiff when police raided his separated parents’ respective homes.

Appearing at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire on Friday, the teenager pleaded guilty to membership of the FKD and four counts of collecting information likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism on or before February 1 2022.

The banned terrorist group, which primarily exists online, is said to promote violence and mass murder in the pursuit of a race war.

Prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds said: “The defendant fits into the lower end of a prominent member role as opposed to merely an active member.”

Judge Jane Miller QC remanded Benincasa in custody as she adjourned sentencing to September 20.

A flag depicting the logo of the SS, Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary organisation, was hanging on Benincasa’s bedroom wall alongside a fascist Italian flag when police conducted a raid on February 1 this year.

Parts of an SS officer’s uniform, including a hat and Swastika armband, were also seized along with items of camouflage clothing, a tactical vest and masks.

Benincasa’s laptop was found to contain extreme right-wing literature and documents, including instructions on security and how to make explosives and poisons.

An unfinished “The Feuerkreig Division Handbook” was also discovered, as were handwritten notes linked to Benincasa’s extremist ideology.

The teenager appeared in court by video-link from Chelmsford prison in Essex, wearing glasses, and rosary beads over a blue polo shirt.

Belfast Telegraph

Rainhill extremist who had bomb-making instructions jailed

By
July 9, 2022
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Scott Mason has “extreme right-wing, racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic views”, police say



An extremist who possessed instructions on how to make bombs and prepare acts of terrorism has been jailed.

Counter-terror police were alerted to Scott Mason’s “racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic views” in October 2021.

Mason, 36, of Rainhill in Merseyside, was found with a document relating to a copy of the Anarchist Cookbook, as well as extreme pornographic images.

He admitted possessing information useful to a terrorist and was jailed at Manchester Crown Court for three years.

The charge related to him having an electronic copy of the banned Anarchist Cookbook on his phone.

Mason also admitted possession of extreme pornography.

His “extreme right-wing” views were alerted to counter-terror police after an incident surrounding reports of a domestic assault in 2021.

A banned push-dagger was also found during a search of Mason’s Elgin Court home.

He admitted owning the weapon in January and was jailed by magistrates for three months.

Mason admitted the two other charges in April and was sentenced on Thursday.

Det Supt William Chatterton, of Counter Terrorism Policing North West, said the sentencing of Mason “reaffirms our commitment to making sure those who pose a risk to our society will be pursued and prosecuted”.

BBC News

Sheffield judge jails ‘extremist’ group who advocated racist violence and manufacture of weapons

By
June 23, 2022
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Four people, who advocated racist violence and the manufacture and possession of weapons, have been jailed for a combined total of over 30 years, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Mr Justice Spencer jailed Daniel Wright, Liam Hall, Stacey Salmon and Samuel Whibley for a combined total of 31 years during a sentencing hearing held Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, June 23, after jurors found them guilty of a combined total of 18 offences following an 11-week trial at the court.

The jury heard how the defendants, whose offending was exposed by an undercover officer, came together in a private online chat group to share extreme right-wing views and propaganda, influence and indoctrinate others and endorse the use of violence to further their cause.

Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North East arrested the group in May last year, and a spokesperson for the policing team described how ‘a partially constructed 3D printed firearm was recovered from the home of Hall and Salmon in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Liam Hall, Stacey Salmon, Daniel Wright and Samuel Whibley were jailed for a combined total of 31 years, during a sentencing hearing held at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, June 23

The spokesperson added: “Examination by a specialist confirmed that despite being incomplete, the weapon could have proved lethal if fully assembled. Other weapons were also recovered from the homes of the defendants, in addition to chemicals, practical guides for making explosives and extreme right-wing texts and videos.”

The four defendants were jailed for a combined total of 31 years, with Wright, 30, of Whinfield Avenue, Keighley, West Yorkshire, given a 12-year custodial sentence and upon release will be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order and a 30-year Part 4 Notification Order. He was found guilty of seven offences including manufacturing a firearm.

Hall, 31, of Hill Top Walk, Keighley, West Yorkshire, was found guilty of an offence of manufacturing a firearm and possessing a firearm and was sentenced to a 6-year custodial sentence. He will also be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order upon release.

Salmon, 31, of Hill Top Walk, Keighley, West Yorkshire, was found guilty of an offence of possessing a firearm and was sentenced to a three-year custodial sentence.

Samuel Whibley, 30, of Derwen Deg, Menai Bridge, Isle of Anglesey, was found guilty of eight terrorism offences including the encouragement of terrorism and the dissemination of a terrorist publication encouraging terrorism. He was sentenced to a 10-year custodial sentence and upon release will be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order and a 30-year Part 4 Notification Order.

Speaking after the sentencing, Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Peter Craig, the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “Today’s outcome highlights the seriousness of the offences committed by these individuals and the verdict reached by the Jury in March.

“We work tirelessly to identify individuals who have an extremist mindset and threaten the safety and unity of our diverse communities.

“Anyone found to be engaging in terrorist activity, or violent extremism in any form, can expect to be identified and put before the courts.”

If anyone sees or hears something that doesn’t seem right, online or in the real word, they are encouraged to trust their instincts and ACT by reporting it to police in confidence at gov.uk/ACT. In an emergency, always dial 999.

Sheffield Star

Man jailed after 17-hour armed police siege where a pyrotechnic device was hurled at officers

By
June 19, 2022
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Luke Stilwell, 40, threw a pyrotechnic device from a window at police

Before Luke Stilwell was arrested, he threw fireworks from his window and threatened police

A man has been jailed for four years and given an extended licence of four years for assaulting emergency workers, affray, possession of an imitation firearm and production of cannabis.

Luke Stilwell, 40, was arrested at his Turnock Gardens home in West Wick after he barricaded himself inside the property and threw a pyrotechnic device from the window at police officers.

The 17-hour siege happened between 11 am on Tuesday, January 25 and 4 am on Wednesday, January 26 and, caused a small number of neighbouring properties in Weston-super-Mare to be evacuated while a cordon was put in place as a precaution.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said: “Specialist officers including negotiators and armed officers, then worked with other emergency services to bring the incident to a safe conclusion with Stilwellleaving his property at 4am.”

Adding that Mr Stilwell admitted to affray, possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, nine counts of assaulting an emergency worker and the production of cannabis.

The statement continues: “When sentencing on Thursday 9 June His Honour Judge James Patrick said Stilwell’s actions were more than public servants should have to put up with.

“During the incident, Stilwell shone a laser device at the officers’ eyes and one officer’s hearing was affected after the pyrotechnic device went off next to them. Thankfully we’re not aware of any officer suffering lasting injury.”

Bristol Post

Man jailed after sharing ‘appalling’ extreme right-wing racist material

By
June 15, 2022
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In one video he made reference to George Floyd and shared others of black people being racially abused

Anthony Barraclough was jailed for six years / Met Police

A man has been jailed for six years for terrorism and public order offences following a Met Police investigation.

Anthony Barraclough, 40, of east London was found to have shared “appalling” far-right racist material online, detective chief superintendent Dominic Murphy said.

Between November 2020 and February 2021, he was found to have shared hate speech promoting white supremacy and advocating terrorist violence.

In one video he made refference to George Floyd and shared others of black people being racially abused.

Barraclough was arrested on 25 February 2021 and was sentenced to six years in prison at Kingston Crown Court on June 10.

Mr Murphy added: “Barraclough posted appalling racist material online, with the intention of encouraging others to adopt his extremist views and hatred of black people.

“This kind of online activity is poisonous and dangerous – it is not harmless idle talk, and it often has serious real-world consequences.

“Officers acted quickly to identify the offending content, and investigate and arrest the person posting it.”

Appearing at Kingston Crown Court on May 6, 2022, Barraclough admitted to the following offences:

– Three counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication (contrary to section 2(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006).

– Six counts of distributing written material to incite racial hatred (contrary to section 19(1) of the Public Order Act 1986).

– One count of distributing a recording to incite racial hatred (contrary to section 21(1) of the Public Order Act 1986).

LES