A self-proclaimed Satanist who claimed he made a pact with a “red-horned devil” has been jailed for 23 months after being found guilty of having extreme right-wing material on his phone.

Declan Candiani, 26, was stopped by counter-terrorism police at Stansted Airport as he attempted to go on holiday on 13 August 2024.

On seeing the contents of his phone, officers arrested him and searched the home he shares with his mother in Streatham, south London.

An examination of Candiani’s devices revealed a cache of extreme right-wing material including “manifestos” of mass killers and documents advocating the use of serious violence to achieve “white supremacy”, the court heard.

‘Mild personality disorder’

The former Brit school of Performing Arts student was found guilty of two charges of collection of information likely to be useful for terrorism and acquitted of two similar offences by a jury at the Old Bailey in October.

During his trial, Candiani denied wrongdoing and claimed he was mainly interested in Satanism and the occult.

In an interview with police, he claimed he had downloaded the material after becoming interested in the Satanist group “Order of Nine Angles”, which has been linked with right-wing extremism.

Candiani was assessed by psychiatrists who found he had a “mild personality disorder” and was fit to stand trial.

Giving evidence in court, he described being visited by the devil in his bedroom, who was “a big red man with horns”.

Jurors were told that Candiani’s mental health suffered after his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Sentencing Candiani, Judge Nigel Lickley KC said he had read a letter that Candiani had written to him saying that he would not “go down these routes again”.

He also noted that his mother was terminally ill and receiving palliative care.

BBC News

A man who owned instructions on how to kill people at close range as well as make explosives and chemical weapons has been convicted of terror offences.

Thames Valley Police said Nicholas Gilpin, 22, had “an extreme right-wing mindset” and had shared “racist, anti-Semitic and white supremacy views” with others.

Counter-terrorism officers arrested Gilpin, of Dippingwell Court in Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, at a property near Hereford on 18 October 2021.

Following a four-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court, he was found guilty of possessing terrorist documents, encouraging terrorism and inciting racial hatred.

During his arrest, officers also seized his electronic devices and found a number of documents containing racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric.

Gilpin was found to have distributed videos and written material on the Telegram messaging app, “which intended to stir up racial hatred, or was likely to do so,” police said.

There were also details on how to use weapons and make explosives, chemical weapons and firearms, along with instructions on how to commit other illegal activities.

‘Untold harm’

Gilpin was charged in connection with the offences on 20 January 2023.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, Det Ch Supt Claire Finlay, said: “Gilpin had in his possession terrorist documents which outlined how to cause untold harm to those in society who he determined did not fit in with his mindset.

“He actively encouraged others to commit acts of terrorism.

“We have recently had sobering reminders of the danger that individuals such as Gilpin pose, who seek to divide our society.

“By sharing racist and anti-Semitic content online, Gilpin knew this would be likely to stir up racial hatred and to further the extreme right-wing ideology he espoused among others.”

Gilpin will be sentenced at a future date.

BBC News

A neo-Nazi paedophile who was jailed 17 years ago for a nail bomb plot has received another prison sentence after admitting owning a gunpowder manual.

Martyn Gilleard, 49, of Town Street in Armley, Leeds, pleaded guilty in June to a single count of having material likely to be of use to a terrorist.

At Leeds Crown Court on Monday, he was jailed for seven years and nine months, and will be subject to a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order plus terrorism notification requirements for 10 years.

Gilleard was jailed for 12 years in 2008 for hatching a nail bomb plot and for having indecent images of children, and was released in 2023.

The gunpowder recipe was found at Gilleard’s home address during a West Yorkshire Police intelligence search on 28 May and was passed to counter-terror police for further investigation.

Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said officers were concerned by the discovery of “the handwritten recipe for black powder […] later verified by experts as potentially viable”.

He said someone having information about explosives manufacture would “always raise serious questions”.

“Gilleard has chosen not to explain or defend the presence of the recipe in his home, instead pleading guilty to possessing information useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism,” he said.

At his trial in 2008 the court heard that Humberside Police searched the Goole home of Gilleard, a former forklift truck driver who was also using the name Martyn Stone.

They found four nail bombs, bladed weapons, bullets, documents about terrorism, and extreme right-wing literature.

Police also discovered about 39,000 indecent images of children, including film and photographs.
BBC News

A Leeds man has been jailed after he kept a handwritten gun powder recipe.

Martyn Paul Gilleard, 49, of Town Street in Armley was jailed for three years and nine months and made the subject of an extended licence period for four years following the conviction. A judge also said he will be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years and terrorism notification requirements for ten years.

Gilleard admitted one charge of possessing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The document was recovered from his home address during an intelligence led search by West Yorkshire Police on May 28, this year and passed to Counter Terrorism Policing North East for further investigation.

He entered a guilty plea when he appeared at the Old Bailey in June. Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “Officers were concerned to discover a handwritten recipe for black powder during a search at Gilleard’s home in May; a recipe later verified by experts as potentially viable.

“Possessing information about the manufacture of explosives will always raise serious questions. Gilleard has chosen not to explain or defend the presence of the recipe in his home, instead pleading guilty to possessing information useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”

Leeds Live

Three Nazi-worshipping extremists convicted of terror offences have been jailed.

Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were found guilty in May of planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues.

Stewart, from West Yorkshire, was jailed for 11 years, Ringrose, from Staffordshire, was jailed for 10 years, and Pitzettu, from Derbyshire, will serve eight years.

Sentencing them at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, Mrs Justice Cutts said she believed they all continued to adhere to their extreme right-wing ideology.

The judge outlined how the online group the trio belonged to was preparing for an attack on an Islamic education centre in Leeds before they were arrested by counter-terror police.

During their trial it emerged the men, who are not believed to have met in the real world before appearing in court, were preparing to use more than 200 weapons they had amassed, including machetes, swords, crossbows and an illegal stun gun.

Ringrose had also 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said the three defendants were “followers of an extreme right-wing Nazi ideology” and styled themselves as an armed military group.

Mr Sandiford said by 2024 they were seeking further recruits and hoping to acquire more deadly weapons.

He said by January and February they were planning their first attack and had identified a target in Leeds, harbouring an “intention to commit acts of extremism which involved killing multiple victims”.

The three men were arrested when security services believed an attack was imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their online group.

A jury had rejected arguments the defendants were fantasists with no intention of carrying out their threats and found all three guilty of a charge of preparing acts of terrorism and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

Ringrose was also convicted of manufacturing a prohibited weapon.

Counter-terror police said the self-styled “militant” online group provided 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”.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley said they were a group who “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.”

He said it had been a complex case involving multiple police forces.

Bethan David, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Counter Terrorism Division, said the men plotted “violent acts of terrorism”.

“By their own admission, they were inspired by SS tactics and supremacist ideology.

“The prosecution case against the defendants included their disturbing Telegram and Facebook chats as well as acquiring military equipment such as riot shields, body armour and an arsenal of weapons found at their home addresses that were to be used in readiness for a ‘race war’.”

In her sentencing, Mrs Justice Cutts said she believed the defendants would be dangerous on their release from jail and gave all three extended sentences, with additional licence periods of eight years for Stewart and five years each for Ringrose and Pitzettu.

She said the trio’s ideology was “laid bare” in a 374-page dossier of internet activity put before the jury.

“These pages were filled with hate towards black and other non-white races, especially Muslim people and immigrants, with ideas of white supremacy and racial purity together with a belief that there must soon be a race war.”

This was coupled, she said, with the “glorification and admiration of the policies and actions of Hitler and the German Nazi Party, including antisemitism, and of mass killers who had targeted black or Muslim communities”.

The nine-week-long trial heard how the defendants formed an online group called Einsatz 14 in January 2024, with “like-minded extremists” who wanted to “go to war for their chosen cause”.

The jury was shown a short video Stewart posted of himself wearing a German army helmet, a Nazi armband and a skull face covering.

Prosecutors explained how Stewart discussed torturing a Muslim leader using his “information extraction kit” with an undercover officer.

Stewart called himself “Fuhrer” of the Einsatz 14 group and appointed an undercover officer called Blackheart as the “Obergruppenfuhrer”, which the other two defendants also joined.

Potential recruits were sent a vetting form and Stewart also developed a mission statement for the group which said its “basic duties” included to “target mosques, Islamic education centres and other similar locations”.

And he sent Blackheart details of the Islamic education centre on Mexborough Road in Leeds, including a Google Maps image.

The officer asked Stewart for more detailed information about the plan and he replied that they could smash windows or ambush someone, the court heard.

All three men will be subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order for five years on release and to Terrorism Notification Requirements for 30 years.

BBC News

Three Nazi-worshipping extremists convicted of terror offences were planning the first of a number of “escalating” attacks when they were arrested, a court has heard.

Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were found guilty in May of planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues.

In the first of a two-day sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford KC said the three defendants “justified, encouraged and glorified serious violence”.

Stewart, from West Yorkshire, Ringrose, from Staffordshire, and Pitzettu, from Derbyshire, will be sentenced on Friday.

In May a jury found them guilty of a charge of preparing acts of terrorism and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

Ringrose was also convicted of manufacturing a prohibited weapon.

The court previously heard how the trio, who are not believed to have met in the real world before they appeared together in the dock, idolised Hitler and the Nazis, shared racist slurs and glorified mass murderers.

They were preparing to use more than 200 weapons they had amassed, including machetes, swords, crossbows and an illegal stun gun.

Ringrose had also 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm.

Mr Sandiford said the three defendants were “followers of an extreme right-wing Nazi ideology” and styled themselves as an armed military group.

He said: “They justified, encouraged and glorified serious violence against and killing of persons of other races (who were) effectively seen as inferior and unworthy of human dignity or indeed life.

“On more than one occasion each of the defendants expressed hatred for and desire and willingness to engage in serious violence against people they perceived as enemies of their cause.”

Mr Sandiford said by 2024 they were seeking further recruits and hoping to acquire more deadly weapons.

The court heard that in January and February they were planning their first attack and had identified a target in Leeds, harbouring an “intention to commit acts of extremism which involved killing multiple victims”.

Mr Sandiford told the court Stewart had a leading role and appointed the other two to their roles as “armourers”, encouraging them to make or acquire firearms or explosives.

‘Pure fantasy’

The three men were arrested when security services believed an attack was imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their online group.

Sultana Tafadar KC, mitigating for Stewart, said many of the chats referred to by the prosecution were “pure fantasy”.

She said the defendant had experienced abuse and neglect as a child and had “unprocessed trauma”.

In mitigation for Pitzettu, the court heard he had shown a positive outlook and attitude in prison, while Ringrose was said to have withdrawn from the group before they were arrested.

BBC News

Former Brit school of Performing Arts student Declan George Candiani, 26, was stopped by counter-terrorism police at Stansted airport.

A self-proclaimed satanist actor who claimed he made a pact with a “red-horned devil” has been found guilty of having extreme right-wing material.

Former Brit school of Performing Arts student Declan George Candiani, 26, was stopped by counter-terrorism police at Stansted airport as he attempted to go on holiday to Finland with his girlfriend, on August 13 2024.

On seeing the contents of his phone, officers arrested him and searched the home he shares with his mother in Streatham, south-west London.

An examination of Candiani’s iPhone and iPad revealed a cache of extreme right-wing material included “manifestos” of mass killers and documents advocating the use of serious violence to achieve white supremacy.

Candiani denied wrong-doing, claiming he was mainly interested in satanism and the occult.

On Friday, he was found guilty of two charges of collection of information likely to be useful for terrorism and acquitted of two similar offences.

During the trial, jurors had heard details of the “horrific” material Candiani had on his devices.

In Hater’s Handbook, the leader of the Satanic neo-Nazi group Maniac Murder Cult claimed to have “murdered for white race” and promoted the likes of mass killer Anders Breivik.

A document entitled 21 Silent Techniques of Killing outlined close contact “assassination” with a spike, knife and nunchucks.

In police interview, Candiani claimed he had downloaded material after becoming interested in satanic group Order of Nine Angles (O9A), which has been linked with right-wing extremism.

Giving evidence in court, Candiani described being visited by a “red-horned devil” in his bedroom who told him: “You see me now Declan, you worship me.”

He told jurors he agreed to be his “minion” saying: “I did literally make a pact with the devil.”

His mental health suffered and he went down a “rabbit hole” after his mother was diagnosed with cancer, the court was told.

The defendant told jurors: “At that time I was dealing a lot with my mum and just hated the world and I was very angry and upset and hated everything and everyone.”

Candiani accepted that he had a tattoo on his chest bearing a neo-Nazi symbol 88 – meaning Heil Hitler.

He also admitted applying to join a right-wing extremist group, Active Club but said he later got “cold feet”.

However, Candiani told jurors he was not interested in terror attacks or hurting anyone.

He said he did not remember looking at a lot of the terrorist material saying it must have been downloaded “inadvertently”.

Candiani was assessed by psychiatrists who found he had a “mild personality disorder” and was fit to stand trial, despite his claim to hear voices and see the devil.

Experts agreed the symptoms he described were not psychosis but a manifestation of his own personality.

The jury deliberated for nine hours and 18 minutes to reach its verdicts.

Judge Nigel Lickley KC granted Candiani continued bail ahead of a sentencing hearing on November 28.
Evening Standard

A Neo-Nazi terrorist has been found guilty of threatening a prison officer because he was unhappy about being served a jacket potato for lunch.

Nicholas Brock, who was already serving a prison sentence for having information likely to be useful to a terrorist, threatened to shoot the guard in the back of the head.

His reason? The jacket potato did not meet his dietary requirements, a trial heard.

In a separate incident, the 57-year-old shouted abuse at his probation officer, telling another, ‘I’ll just shoot her myself.’

He was convicted at Oxford Crown Court of making threats to kill prison staff on May 20, 2024, and on October 9, 2024, Counter Terrorism Policing South East said.

Brock also claimed to know people who could reactivate guns to carry out his plot once he was released.

When counter-terror officers raided his Maidenhead home earlier this year, they found an armoury of deactivated firearms, a knuckle duster, swords, knives and a sword disguised as a walking stick

He was sentenced on Tuesday to one year in prison for each count, to run consecutively to each other, police said.

Brock was investigated in 2020 and found to have racist videos, images and video footage from the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand.

He was also a collector of Second World War and Nazi Germany military items, police said.

The Nazi sympathiser collected daggers from the Third Reich, downloaded terrorism manuals and had a framed ‘certificate of recognition’ from the Ku Klux Klan in his own name mounted on the wall.

Brock also had tattoos of the ‘death’s head’ skulls, associated with the paramilitary SS group, as well as swastikas and other symbols from Adolf Hitler’s Germany.

Police raided the house that he shared with his mother in Maidenhead in January 2018, and found a hoard of extremist literature, including a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

The collection included various racist memes, a video of the 2019 white supremacist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand and a news clip of the banned terrorist group National Action.

Officers also found photographs of Brock wearing a President Donald Trump Make America Great Again hat, posing in a balaclava while holding firearms, and with others making Nazi salutes.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East DCS Claire Finlay said: ‘Brock’s behaviour has demonstrated that his extreme right-wing mindset did not diminish during his time spent in prison and his aggressive behaviour was escalating as his prison release date approached.

‘It was clear that Brock continued to pose a risk of significant harm towards the victims in this case, as well as towards members of the public from minority backgrounds, and those in positions of authority.’

Metro

A neo-Nazi student who was jailed for a minimum of 40 years for murdering an 82-year-old man and plotting explosions near mosques has died in a high-security jail.

Pavlo Lapshyn, 37, stabbed Mohammed Saleem in Birmingham in April 2013 — five days after arriving in the UK.

Lapshyn later planted three home-made bombs near mosques in the West Midlands in planned racist attacks.

He died today at HMP Wakefield, the Category A jail in West Yorkshire, the Prison Service has confirmed.

A local in the West Midlands told Metro: ‘He absolutely spread fear through the community. And obviously we had to contain it, because what you didn’t want is, what he wanted — to start a race war.

I think maybe he was doing little testers at the little mosque, because the last one that he did was in a mosque in Wolverhampton, and it was, it would have been horrific. It was a nail bomb that detonated all across the car park. But the clocks went back so the Friday prayer time had changed by an hour. It could have been so much worse.

‘There were lots of questions we had that we didn’t get answered because none of it actually made any sense.

‘Because if he was going to commit race wars why would you go to the smallest mosques in the back streets of Birmingham, when he was staying on site opposite one of the biggest mosques in Birmingham?’

Lapshyn, from Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine, had been living in Birmingham while on a temporary work placement in the city.

He stabbed Mr Saleem three times as the father-of-seven was walking home from prayers at Small Heath mosque on April 29.

He also stamped on the head of his victim, who had 22 grandchildren and was a fortnight away from becoming a grandfather again.

Six weeks later, Lapshyn planted his first explosive device beside gates outside the Aisha mosque in Walsall.

He detonated another seven days later on a roundabout near Wolverhampton Central Mosque, although no one noticed for three weeks.

His final and most dangerous bomb, packed with hundreds of nails, sent debris flying across a car park close to Kanzul Iman Masjid mosque in Tipton on July 12. The attack failed to cause casualties only because morning prayers had been put back an hour, delaying the arrival of up to 1,000 worshippers, the Old Bailey heard.

He was caught after police recognised his Delcam work clothes on CCTV footage. At his home, officers found material for further bombs, including three mobile phones used as detonators, and white supremacist literature.

Lapshyn admitted to police that he had acted alone and ‘wanted to increase racial conflict’. He said he targeted mosques ‘because they are not white and I am white’.

n October 2013, he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 40 years for the murder by a judge at the Old Bailey.

The killer’s tariff included 12 years for offences under the Explosives Substances Act and 12 years for offences under the Terrorism Act.

A Prison Service spokesperson said today: ‘This was an abhorrent crime and our thoughts remain with Mr Saleem’s friends and family.

‘Pavlo Lapshyn died on 23 September 2025 at HMP Wakefield.

‘As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.’

Metro