Alfie Coleman, a 22-year-old Neo-Nazi, has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison at the Old Bailey for plotting a mass gun attack and planning to target the Mayor of London's home. The plot was foiled by an undercover MI5 operation.
Early Radicalisation and Planning
Coleman, then aged 14, began searching for extreme right-wing material online, including a neo-Nazi text downloaded onto his iPad. He later compiled a hate list of colleagues and customers at his part-time Tesco job, branding them with racial slurs or as “race traitors.” He wrote a “manifesto” in a diary and identified potential targets, including the Lord Mayor of London and a local mosque.
MI5 Sting Operation
Authorities became concerned in summer 2023 when Coleman grew active on extreme right-wing online groups. In early September 2023, he arranged to buy a Skorpion automatic weapon, an AK47 rifle, and bullets in France, targeting a mosque but quickly abandoning the plan. Instead, MI5’s “highly sophisticated operation” led to a meeting in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, on September 29, 2023. Coleman, then 19, arranged with an undercover officer to buy a Makarov pistol, five magazines, and 200 rounds of ammunition. Jurors saw video of Coleman dropping £3,500 in a Land Rover Discovery and picking up a holdall containing the handgun and ammunition. Before going 30 yards, armed counter-terrorism police confronted and subdued him. He was carrying his Tesco employee card at the time.
Evidence of Extremist Ideology
A search of Coleman’s home, shared with his parents and sibling, revealed his murderous ideology. Police found £2,500 in savings and a bug detector in his bedside drawer; a rock with a Swastika; a Black Sun flag associated with neo-Nazism on the wall; and various extreme right-wing books. He idolised Thomas Mair, the extremist who killed MP Jo Cox.
Legal Proceedings and Sentence
Coleman admitted attempting to possess a firearm and ammunition but denied preparing for a terrorist attack. He pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents with information useful to terrorists, including texts on weaponry and bomb-making instructions. Giving evidence, he described feeling lonely and suffering from mental health issues during the Covid-19 lockdowns. The judge sentenced him to 13 and a half years in prison.
