Neo-Nazi with Home ‘Armoury’ Sentenced to 10 Years

A man described as an extremist, who had accumulated an “armoury” at his residence and had conversations about initiating an assault on a local LGBT organization, has received a 10-year prison sentence. During court proceedings, it was revealed that Alan Edward, 55, of Falkirk, maintained nearly 28,000 social media followers and adhered to beliefs in white supremacy, openly articulating racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic opinions. Despite his denials of all charges, a jury convicted him on counts related to the Terrorism Act, racism, anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial, and breach of the peace. Following his release, Edward is also subject to five years of supervision and 30 years of monitoring, as stipulated by the Terrorism Act. Judge Fiona Tait informed Edward: “The author of the risk assessment on you assesses you at high risk of re-offending.” She continued: “For such serious offences there is no appropriate alternative to a prison sentence.” The judge added: “It is necessary to punish you and deter you and others from engaging in activities for the purposes of terrorism and to protect the public from you.” Edward participated in the proceedings remotely via video-link from prison, where he had been held on remand since September 2022. His arrest occurred in September 2022 after armed police officers encircled his end-terrace residence in Redding, Falkirk, and forced entry through his front door. During the trial, it was disclosed that Edward had written: “the quickest way to someone’s heart is with a high power 7.62mm round”. Law enforcement discovered various weapons and gear, such as a crossbow, 14 knives (several bearing Nazi and SS insignia), machetes, a tomahawk, a samurai sword, knuckledusters, a catapult, an extendable baton, and a stun gun. Additionally, an air pistol, an SS-style skull mask, goggles, a respirator, fighting gloves equipped with hardened knuckles, pellets, ball bearings, and hunting tips designed for crossbow arrows were among the items located. Prosecutors characterized these findings as constituting “an armoury” of weapons. Edward was also cultivating an indoor cannabis plantation with the intent to sell. The court was informed that he held and articulated “a set of ideals with a neo-Nazi outlook, incorporating notions of white supremacy, the notion of racial purity of whites, racism, anti-semitism, and hatred of homosexuals and transgender people”. A document discovered on his computer system referred to the Norwegian neo-Nazi mass murderer Anders Breivik as “Saint Anders”. Investigations into his WhatsApp account revealed that he had been exchanging messages with an associate in nearby Grangemouth concerning the planned assault on an LGBT group. In a sequence of communications labeled “incredibly sinister” by the prosecution, he stated: “They have been pushing their luck for years, now they will pay in blood.” He further remarked: “We should get masked up and go do a few of them in at their little gay club.” Additional messages were found to target communists and Jewish individuals. It was also disclosed in court that Edward maintained two accounts on Gab, a social media platform favored by the far right. He drew the attention of counter-terrorism investigators after uploading a video of a National Action rally conducted in 2016, preceding the group’s designation as the first far-right organization proscribed in the UK under the Terrorism Act. Prosecutor Paul Kearney KC described Edward as “a man who with clear neo-Nazi ideals – preparing for an act of terrorism which would include an ideologically-driven incident of serious violence”. Detective Superintendent Stephen Clark, who leads Police Scotland’s counter-terrorism investigations, stated: “Edward shared extreme racist and homophobic content online with the aim of stirring up hatred and spreading fear and alarm. His complete disregard for the corrosive impact this could have on our communities heightened these dangerous actions.” He continued: “It is entirely unacceptable to promote terrorism or extremism, and this conviction displays how we will not hesitate to investigate online or offline behaviour which breaches terrorism or other criminal legislation.” Clark concluded: “Holding an array of weaponry posed a clear and significant risk to the public which underlines the importance of him being brought to justice.”