Counter Terrorism Policing has urged parents and guardians to be alert to the signs of radicalisation after a 22-year-old man was jailed for planning a terrorist attack, having begun to be radicalised online at the age of 14, the force stated.
Alfie Douglas Coleman, of Essex, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday 8 July to 13 and a half years in jail with a further five years on licence, and must serve at least two thirds of the custodial period in prison. He was found guilty of preparation of terrorist acts on 30 April following a trial at the Old Bailey.
A joint investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London and MI5 identified that Coleman was plotting to buy a gun through online contacts on extreme right-wing terrorism forums. Officers became increasingly concerned about his activity in the summer of 2023, and further enquiries, supported by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit, established he was attempting to acquire firearms to carry out an attack in support of his ideology. He arranged to purchase a Makarov pistol and ammunition, unaware that he was in contact with an undercover operative.
Coleman travelled to Stratford in east London on 29 September 2023 carrying £3,500 in cash, exchanged it for a bag containing the gun and ammunition, and was surrounded and arrested by officers seconds later. He was questioned over several days while detectives analysed his digital devices.
Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, was quoted in the press release as saying: “It is extremely concerning that such a young person was planning to murder innocent members of the public as part of an extreme right wing terrorist plot. But thankfully Counter Terrorism Policing, working with our colleagues in MI5, were able to intervene and arrest him before he was able to harm anyone, and I have little doubt that the brilliant work of all involved has prevented what could have been a real tragedy.”
She added: “What is particularly concerning is that Coleman was radicalised online from when he was just 14 years’ old, and sadly we’re seeing more and more examples of young people and children being drawn into violent extremism and terrorism this way. This is why I’m urging parents and carers to make sure that you are aware of what your children are doing online. While it may be difficult, it is vital that you have conversations with them, and if you are still concerned, then ACT Early and get in touch, so that they can be steered down a different path before it is too late.”
Examination of his devices recovered extremist and terrorist-related documents alongside a manifesto-style diary written by Coleman, setting out his grievances and his plans to carry out an attack. Evidence dated back as far as 2019, when he was 14, and detectives found he had downloaded a notorious extreme right-wing text in November 2020 at the age of 16, followed by further extremist material and manuals on making and using weapons and explosives.
Charged on 11 October 2023, Coleman pleaded guilty to ten counts of collecting or possessing information likely to be useful for terrorism under section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, and to attempted possession of a firearm and ammunition, receiving 10 years and two months to run concurrently. He will also be subject to a Part 4 notification order requiring him to share personal information with police for 30 years.
Counter Terrorism Policing points anyone concerned about a person close to them toward the ACT Early website or the support line on 0800 011 3764, where specially trained officers can be contacted in confidence.
What worries me here is the people previously described as far right, including Nigel Farage.
BY THE GOVERNMENT.
Anyone slightly right of centre is Far Right according to Labour or BBC/Sky News. I remember when Boris Johnsons conservatives were constantly called Nazi or far right by unwashed left wingers even though they were one of the least right wing conservative governments in history 😂
If they’re Islamofascists, then fine; anyone who doesn’t accept the Islamization of the country is far-right. You have to accept the caliphate without question, or else you’re Hitler’s reincarnation according to the endophobic leftists.