Alfie Coleman, a 22-year-old neo-Nazi from Great Notley, Essex, has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for preparing acts of terrorism, following an undercover operation by MI5. He was found guilty at the Old Bailey after a retrial.
Radicalisation and Planning
Coleman began exploring extreme right-wing material at age 14, downloading a neo-Nazi text onto his iPad. He later compiled a hate list of colleagues and customers, branding them with racial slurs, and wrote a manifesto identifying targets including the Lord Mayor of London and a local mosque.
In early September 2023, he arranged to buy a Skorpion automatic weapon, an AK47 rifle, and bullets in France, targeting a mosque, but abandoned the plan. MI5 then orchestrated a sting operation.
The Sting Operation
On September 29, 2023, Coleman met an undercover officer in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, to buy a Makarov pistol, five magazines, and 200 rounds of ammunition. He dropped £3,500 in a Land Rover Discovery and picked up a holdall containing the handgun. Armed counter-terrorism police arrested him within 30 yards.
Evidence of Extremism
A search of his home revealed extreme right-wing paraphernalia: a Swastika rock, a Black Sun flag, and books. Police found £2,500 in savings, a bug detector, knives, an air rifle, and a list of potential targets. His devices showed he had emailed the far-right group Patriotic Alternative in July 2021 and planned attacks including hijacking a plane and targeting the Lord Mayor of London.
Prosecutor Nicholas De La Poer KC said Coleman was “seething with hatred” and created a list of people at Tesco who had “upset” him. Six days before his arrest, he posted a picture of a man with an automatic gun, commenting “Coming soon here my man.”
Defence and Sentencing
Coleman claimed he was lonely and suffered mental health issues during Covid lockdowns. He admitted attempting to possess a firearm and ammunition but denied preparing for terrorism. He also pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents useful to terrorists.
Cdr Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, said: “He lived in a normal family [and had a] normal education. He was like any other child, any other teenager, who was spending a lot of time online behind closed doors. Sadly, living in that world, he was able to radicalise himself.”
