An 18-year-old from Bury has admitted a series of terrorism offences after posting a video of a mosque shooting and a mass killer's manifesto online. Damien Woolfenden appeared at the Old Bailey in London to plead guilty to 12 charges.
Offences admitted at the Old Bailey
The charges included two counts of disseminating a terrorist publication, covering a video of a live stream of mass killings at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, carried out by Brenton Tarrant in 2019, and the manifesto of mass murderer Anders Breivik. Woolfenden also pleaded guilty to five counts of possessing a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, three counts of stirring up racial hatred, one count of stirring up religious hatred and one count of stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Judge's comments and next steps
The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, said Woolfenden had appeared 'to advocate violence against a variety of groups from a point of view of white racial supremacy'. She ordered that he be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on December 4, and requested a pre-sentence report, including an assessment of whether Woolfenden is a 'dangerous' offender. The judge told the defendant: "You have entered your guilty pleas. The appropriate credit for those pleas will be provided when you are sentenced. I am concerned about you and what you were speaking about and writing about."
Woolfenden, of Maxwell Street, Bury, appeared by video link from HMP Forest Bank in Salford and has no previous convictions. He was remanded in custody pending sentencing.
