Alfie Coleman, a 22-year-old neo-Nazi, has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison, with an additional five years on extended licence, for planning a mass gun attack. He was convicted of preparing for terrorist acts following an Old Bailey retrial.
Radicalisation at Age 14
Coleman first began exploring extreme right-wing material online at the age of 14, downloading a neo-Nazi text onto his iPad. His radicalisation escalated over the years, leading him to pen a manifesto and identify potential targets, including the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque.
Judge Richard Marks KC described Coleman as a “dangerous offender” with “virulently racist” views. In court, Coleman appeared tearful as the judge dismissed his claims that his statements were mere hyperbole or intrusive thoughts.
MI5 Undercover Operation
Authorities became concerned in summer 2023 when Coleman, from Great Notley, Essex, grew active on online extreme right-wing groups. MI5 undercover officers engaged him in encrypted chats as he sought to buy weapons.
On September 29, 2023, Coleman arranged to purchase a Makarov pistol, five magazines, and 200 rounds of ammunition from an undercover officer in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London. Video footage showed him dropping £3,500 into a Land Rover Discovery and picking up a holdall containing the handgun and ammunition. He was arrested by armed counter-terrorism police before he could leave the car park.
Evidence of Extremism
A search of Coleman’s home revealed a cache of extremist material: a rock painted with a Swastika, a Black Sun flag associated with neo-Nazism, and various extreme right-wing books. Officers also found a collection of knives, a small stone axe, an air rifle, and a device to detect bugs and secret cameras.
Coleman idolised Thomas Mair, the extremist who murdered MP Jo Cox, and had emailed the far-right white supremacist organisation Patriotic Alternative in July 2021, expressing a desire to participate in activism.
Plans for Attack
Coleman wrote detailed plans for potential terrorist attacks, including hijacking a plane, targeting the Lord Mayor’s home, and using explosives in a cash machine, as well as knives and crossbows. He compiled a hate list of colleagues and customers, branding them with racial slurs or as “race traitors”.
Prosecutor Nicholas De La Poer KC stated that Coleman was “seething with hatred” and posed a “high risk of serious harm to the public”. Probation officers deemed it unlikely his deeply rooted feelings would change.
Mental Health and Mitigation
Coleman’s defence highlighted his loneliness and mental health struggles during the Covid-19 lockdowns, as well as traits of autism spectrum disorder. Mitigating, Martin Rutherford KC described Coleman as “intelligent, articulate and polite” but noted his obsessive personality took a “horribly wrong turn”.
Judge Marks spared Coleman a life sentence, citing his age, immaturity, autism traits, vulnerability, and lack of previous convictions. Coleman will serve two-thirds of his sentence, minus time already spent in custody, before being eligible for parole.
Police Warning
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, praised the operation that prevented a potential tragedy. She urged parents to monitor children’s online activity, noting a rise in young people being drawn into violent extremism through online radicalisation.
Coleman had admitted attempting to possess a firearm and ammunition but denied preparing for a terrorist attack. He also pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents with information useful to terrorists, including texts on weaponry and bomb-making.
