An 18-year-old from Bury has been remanded into custody accused of stirring up racial hatred against Jewish and Muslim communities by sharing videos of terrorist attacks and manifestos of prominent far-right figures.
Damian Woolfenden appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday via video link from HMP Forest Bank wearing a grey prison tracksuit. He spoke to confirm his name and date of birth and gave no indication of his pleas to the charges.
Alleged Sharing of Terrorist Material
Woolfenden is said to have posted the manifesto of far-right terrorist Anders Breivik to a Telegram group. In June 2011, Breivik killed 77 people in two attacks in Norway.
He is also accused of sharing a video which showed terror attacker Brenton Tarrant's Facebook Live rampage, in which he shot 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019. Woolfenden allegedly shared the clip on a 'pro-white' platform called White Pilled TV, a court heard.
Further Charges and Next Court Date
A court also heard how Woolfenden had the manifestos of American white supremacist mass shooter Payton Gendron and German neo-Nazi synagogue shooter Stephan Balliet on his home computer.
The teenager, who is of no fixed abode but formerly from Bury, is charged with three counts of publishing threatening written material stirring up racial hatred, one relating to foreigners and one to Jewish people. He is also charged with stirring up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Woolfenden is also charged with two counts of transmitting the contents of a terrorist publication electronically, being reckless as to whether terrorism was encouraged, and one of possessing documents likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
District Judge Briony Clarke said: “This case is too serious to be dealt with at this court. I am sending you to the crown court, and the next date will be September 25.” He will next appear at the Old Bailey on September 25.
