A white supremacist who plotted a terror attack on a police station to instigate a “racial war” was today (May 16) found guilty.
Luke Skelton, 19, from the village of Kielder in Northumberland, conducted hostile reconnaissance work, posted racist, sexist and anti-LGBT+ hate messages online, and drafted a screed to further his violent, racist ideology after the attack.
Details of the two-week trial revealed that Skelton spent innumerable hours online posting far-right speech and propaganda for over a year before his arrest.
19-year-old Luke Skelton joins a growing list of men convicted of far-right terrorism offences in the UK who praised or took inspiration from the Christchurch terrorist, as Tell MAMA continues to document.
Skelton, who also praised other neo-Nazi terrorists like Anders Breivik, wrote of his desire to “accelerate the coming collapse and racial war”.
He glorified fascists like Oswald Mosley and Adolf Hitler, praised Enoch Powell, and sought to propagate civil unrest in France.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: “The evidence clearly demonstrated that he was not just a person who held strong views but a terrorist who wanted to cause serious harm.”
Prosecutors outlined how Skelton took a keen interest in napalm in the hopes of developing his explosive device, as expert witness Lisa Dunn, from the Ministry of Defence detailed how Skelton had gathered enough information to create, in her words, a “viable explosive”.
The Independent revealed how Skelton disengaged from the Prevent programme in May 2021 following a college referral in November 2020.
In one of the screeds penned by Skelton, he envisioned that 93 per cent of the society would be “native British”, outlaw Islam, remove suffrage for women and ban equal marriage, the Independent further revealed.
Skelton also called for violence towards drag acts.
Jurors proved unconvinced by claims that his white supremacist views were mere ‘jokes’.
Following a joint investigation between Northumbria Police and counter-terror police charges against Skelton came in November 2021.
He was found guilty of a single offence under Section 5(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006 -engaging in conduct in preparation of a terrorist act.
Sentencing will occur on June 19.