A far-right terrorist who tried to kill Muslims in a rampage the day after the Christchurch attack has been jailed for more than 18 years.
Vincent Fuller shouted “all Muslims should die, white supremacists rule” after watching a Facebook livestream broadcast by the shooter.
The 50-year-old attacked cars with non-white drivers with a baseball bat in Stanwell, Surrey, then prowled the streets armed with a knife searching for more targets.
Kingston Crown Court heard that Fuller stabbed a teenager of Bulgarian heritage as he sat in a car with friends outside Tesco, telling him: “You’re going to die.”
The attack was declared a terrorist incident by police the following day but while Fuller admitted a string of offences including attempted murder, he denied committing an act of far-right terror.
Judge Peter Lodder QC found the stabbing had a “terrorist connection” on Tuesday and jailed Fuller for 18 years and nine months.
“This was an act of attempted murder and, as I have found, this was a terrorist act,” he told the court, after finding the stabbing was motivated by white supremacy and anti-Muslim hatred.
The attack unfolded on 16 March, the day after 51 Muslims were massacred at mosques in Christchurch.
“Vincent got a bit angry about the news from New Zealand because he said, ‘it is always them, the Muslims that get looked after and get cared about’,” his girlfriend told police.
Shortly before starting his rampage, Fuller wrote a Facebook post reading: “I am English, no matter what the government say. Kill all the non-English and get them all out of England.”A second post published half an hour later afterwards added: “I agree with what that man did in New Zealand as we will not be brainwashed to this their wrong [sic].”
Prosecutors said he first attacked a neighbour’s home with a baseball bat, calling the woman of Indian descent a “black c***”.
Neighbours heard Fuller shouting “kill Muslims” and “white supremacy”, with one woman reporting he said: “All Muslims should die, white supremacists rule. I’m going to murder a Muslim.”
After the woman refused to answer her door, Fuller walked down the road attacking cars and shouting racist insults and threats at drivers.
A Facebook post made by Vincent Fuller shortly before he started his attack in Stanwell, Surrey, on 16 March 2019
“I’m going to f***ing kill you, I’m going to f***ing cut your throat you black bastard,” he shouted at one driver, before attacking an Uber driven by a Muslim man.
Fuller broke the bat after attacking several vehicles, then went back home and armed himself with a knife.
He walked towards a Tesco supermarket, where a 19-year-old Bulgarian man was in his car talking to friends.
Witnesses said they saw Fuller approaching with a 12in knife with a black blade before he asked the teenagers: “Do you want to get hurt?”
The court heard that the victim replied “what?” before Fuller told him: “You’re going to die.”
The driver attempted to start his car to escape but Fuller lunged through the open window and stabbed him in the hand and neck.
He managed to drive to a nearby McDonald’s and received first aid, before undergoing three hours of surgery.
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said the teenager was targeted because he has lightly-tanned skin and was sat next to a friend with a long beard.
“His conduct was motivated by racist and religious hatred, bolstered by the consumption of alcohol,” he told the court.
Vincent Fuller, 50, went on a rampage armed with a knife and baseball bat in the Surrey town of Stanwell on 16 March 2019
”His intention was to strike fear into the hearts of people he described as ‘non-English’, in particular Muslims.”
Fuller, of Viola Avenue in Stanwell, was arrested a short distance away after being Tasered by police and initially denied carrying out the attack.
He later admitted attempted murder, possession of a bladed article, affray and racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.
Prosecutors said he called police officers “dirty immigrant scum” while being arrested, adding: “Dirty race traitor, I hope your kids die. I hope your f***ing family die.”
Fuller added: “I hope Syrians come over and rape your children. I hope Isis comes over and rapes your children.”
The court heard that he bore animosity towards police over an investigation of allegations made by his ex-girlfriend.
The day before the attack, Fuller rejected a request to attend a voluntary interview over threatening Facebook messages, calling the officer a “little girl” and telling her to “f*** off”.
A friend who spent time with him on the morning of the attack said he was “preoccupied with the fact that the police wanted to speak to him”, and saw television news about the Christchurch attack shortly afterwards.
In a police interview, Fuller admitted watching the shooter’s video and writing the Facebook posts, but “said he was angry and did not mean it”.
A baseball bat used by Vincent Fuller, 50, to attack cars in the Surrey town of Stanwell on 16 March 2019
He tested positive for cannabis and alcohol, and told police he had downed a large bottle of cider and three cans of strong lager.
Fuller has 24 previous convictions for 59 offences, including a six-year prison sentence in 1998 for stealing handbags from elderly women.
Benjamin Waidhofer, defending, told the court on Friday that his client had no historic links to terrorism and his actions stemmed from family problems “rather than an attempt to further a cause”.
But prosecutor Jonathan Polnay said that if someone had praised the London Bridge terror attacks, said they were going to kill non-Muslims and then stabbed someone, then that would “obviously be terrorism”.
The Stanwell incident is one of several alleged terror attacks and plots inspired in part by the Christchurch shooting, which saw the perpetrator publish a lengthy manifesto detailing a theory that white people are being “replaced” by Muslims.
Brenton Tarrant has been described as a “saint” on extremist forums and cited as an inspiration by white supremacists who carried out shooting massacres in El Paso and Poway.
On Monday, the head of UK counter-terror policing revealed that security services had foiled 15 Islamist and seven far-right attacks since March 2017.
The Independent
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