Wednesday 23 June 2021
A man from Ashford has been jailed after being convicted of a number of terrorism offences.
38
year old Michael Nugent ran and was active on a number of extreme right wing
chat groups on the Telegram app.
He
used different personas to express his racist views and hatred of ethnic
minorities and shared terrorist-related documents with others.
But
he was arrested after Met Counter Terrorism officers linked the various online
accounts to Nugent’s real-world identity.
He was sentenced earlier to three-and-a-half years
imprisonment at Kingston Crown Court.
Commander
Richard Smith, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: "Nugent
freely shared his abhorrent extremist views with others over a messaging app,
and he passed on manuals detailing how to produce deadly weapons and explosive
devices.
"However,
he was stopped when he was arrested by counter terrorism officers.
"This
is another case which shows how harmful online extremism is. That is why it is
important that anyone who believes that they have a friend or loved one who
they think has been radicalised, or is vulnerable, seeks help.
"The
Counter Terrorism Command, with the national Counter Terrorism Policing network
and other partners, work around the clock to bring the likes of Nugent to
justice, root out harmful extremism online, and keep the public safe."
Nugent
shared manuals on how to make explosives and homemade firearms, and published
an edited video of the Christchurch Mosque terror attack. One of his offences
relates to Nugent sending an edited version of the manifesto written by the
Christchurch attacker.
Nugent
was arrested in August 2020.
He was interviewed over seven days following
his arrest, but gave no comment.
Nugent
was initially charged with 12 Terrorism Act offences; a further six charges were
subsequently added.
posted by Radio Jackie News Team @ 4:30 pm