Liverpool man convicted of preparing acts of terrorism

A man from Liverpool has been convicted of terrorism offences at Manchester Crown Court.

Jacob Graham was convicted of preparation of terrorist acts, contrary to section 5(1)(b) of the Terrorism Act 2006; two counts of dissemination of terrorist publications, contrary to Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 and four counts of possession of material likely to be useful to a terrorist, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The 20-year-old was arrested on Friday 26 May 2023 under section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 by officers from Merseyside Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West.

A warrant was carried out at his address, as part of an investigation into purchases of chemicals that could have been used to make explosives.

Officers searched his media devices and found that he had collected manuals, instructions and publications, which focused on providing instructions for the manufacture of firearms, ammunition and explosives. Some of these were printed out and stored in a folder at his home.

It was discovered that Graham had created a document entitled ‘Freedom Encyclopaedia’ and shared it with contacts over the internet. The manual included instructions on how to build weapons, including shotguns, nail bombs, explosives, including Black Powder (also known as gunpowder) and plastic explosive; ignition devices and instructions on how the perpetrators might evade the police.

The opening paragraph of the encyclopaedia explained that it was written for ‘misfits, social nobodies, Anarchists and Terrorists’ and the prosecution argued he intended this to assist others in committing their own acts of terrorism and that Graham was motivated both by hatred of the government and ecological concerns.

It was also discovered that Graham had sent instructional documents on construction of explosives and a home-made submachine gun to online contacts.

The court heard that Graham had written a document setting out his plan to commit a bombing campaign with the aim of killing 50 or more people, and that he had then gone on to acquire chemicals and experiment with construction of explosives.

He has been remanded into custody until Monday 18 March for sentencing.

Andy Meeks, Counter Terrorism Policing North West Superintendent,  said: “I hope this investigation offers some reassurance to the public as it highlights the great proactive work our officers do to identify extremist activity.

“Online extremism is a growing threat and this case sadly is a prime example; where a young man from Merseyside has become radicalised online, without ever having left his bedroom.

“He shared extreme content online recklessly and without any regard for who received his instructions or for what purpose.

“He even went so far as to say he intended this material to be instructional to other terrorists. In communications with unknown users online, Graham was found to have been encouraging and inciting terrorist activity, he also shared information, downloaded bomb making instructions and encouraged others to take part in acts of violence.

“This online activity is dangerous and can rightly carry a heavy prison sentence to ensure our communities are kept safe. If you are engaging in similar behaviour online, know this is not a victimless crime and you could face arrest and many years in prison.

“I also want to encourage the public to report any possible extremist activity as soon as possible. I understand how difficult this decision might be but if you have suspicions, you must report them sooner rather than later. Reporting won’t ruin lives but it could save them.”

Image: Rept0n1x, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons