Violent neo-Nazi group who wanted to start an ethnic "race war" jailed under Terrorism Act

Four members of an extremist neo-Nazi group described as a “racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation” have been convicted at Birmingham Crown Court under the Terrorism Act.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court took less than nine hours to find three men and a woman guilty for being members of a banned violent right-wing group after a previous trial resulted in a hung jury in June last year. One other man had admitted membership of the hate group before the first trial.

The four individuals – obsessed with “violent ethnic cleansing” – were accused of planning to ignite a “holy war” against Jews, Asians, homosexuals, and black people in the UK.

Alice Cutter and Mark Jones found guilty of National Action membership — Neo-Nazis Alice Cutter (22) and her partner Mark Jones (24) were found guilty of National Action membership

The second nine-week trial is the culmination of a two year investigation into right-wing terrorism which has already seen eight people imprisoned for National Action membership as well as other offences.

National Action was formed in 2013 and in December 2016 became the first organisation to be banned by the government since World War II. The then home secretary Amber Rudd called the group “a racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organisation”.

Alice Cutter, aged 22, and her partner 24-year-old Mark Jones, both from Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge, Halifax; Garry Jack, aged 23 from Heathland Avenue, Shard End, Birmingham; Connor Scothern, aged 18 from Bagnall Avenue, Arnold, Nottingham, and Daniel Ward, aged 28 from Highmore Drive, Bartley Green, Birmingham, were arrested on 5 September 2017 and charged with being members of National Action contrary to section 11 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Guilty of terrorism charges

(L-R): Garry Jack from Shard End in Birmingham, Connor Scothern from Nottingham and Daniel Ward from Bartley Green in Birmingham were part of a banned neo-Nazi terrorist group

Daniel Ward pleaded guilty at a previous court hearing and was jailed for three years on 19 July last year. Officers described Ward as “a dangerous individual who supported violent action.”

In an intercepted e-mail message to National Action, Ward described himself as “white English from Birmingham” and considered himself “fanatical” in his views on race.

Ward also added the following chilling words to his message:

“We are at war and it’s time for me to fight for my children’s future and the future of our people. I am 100% committed and genuine.

“All I have to offer is my thirst for gratuitous violence! If I can be of any help to you guys, I’m in.”

The jury heard how the group became members of National Action pre-proscription and regularly met to share their extreme ideology and attend demonstrations, however when the group was banned, the defendants continued to communicate covertly using encrypted messaging platforms.

They held secret meetings to discuss their ambitions for a race war whilst recruiting other young people to the group, sharing intensely shocking images mocking the holocaust and glorifying Hitler.

The extremist group re-formed as the Triple K Mafia, a nod to the white supremacist hate group Ku Klux Klan, and described themselves as “Adolf’s top bois”.

Obsessed with violent ethnic cleansing

Central to the group were Alice Cutter and Mark Jones who amassed an arsenal of weapons and were obsessed with ‘violent ethnic cleansing’ across the UK according to detectives who worked on the case.

Alice Cutter’s views on Jews were extreme and she chatted about a football game in a private conversation where she described the football as being the decapitated head of a Jew which “got a good kicking every time”.

Mark Jones, who was in the youth wing of the British National Party when he was a teenager, had met Alice Cutter after she entered a Miss Hitler beauty contest as ‘Buchenwald Princess’, named after the German prison camp where thousands of Jews were killed during WWII.

Alice Cutter's views on Jews were violent and extreme — Alice Cutter’s views on Jews were violent and extreme

In a message to her lover she wrote:

“I want to smack my race into reality, we are so pure and cute, why can we not gas the f***ing invaders, I am unsure.”

Police also discovered chilling words on Alice Cutter’s phone which referred to a race war: “Don’t worry it’s coming” and “The storm is coming”.

The group was part of the Midland Chapter of National Action which saw a serving British lance corporal – Mikko Vehvilainen – and Alex Deakin jailed for eight years in April 2018 for belonging to the group and distributing extremist publications.

Two months later Deakin, along with two others, were given prison sentences for their activities.

Neo-Nazi Alice Cutter and her boyfriend wanted to start a 'race war' — Neo-Nazi Alice Cutter and her boyfriend wanted to start a ‘race war’

One of the group’s actions was posting stickers at Aston University with the intention of inciting racial hatred. Garry Jack was among that group and received a suspended sentence.

And in December 2018, a further five people were jailed for belonging to National Action along with other offences including possessing bomb-making instructions.

Head of West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU), Detective Chief Superintendent Kenny Bell, said:

“National Action is an extreme right wing neo-Nazi group.

“Their ambition is to prepare for a race war by amassing weapons and trying to recruit others by the spread of their extreme ideology.

“Being convicted of membership of this extreme right terrorist group is the same as belonging to other terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or Daesh.”

Alice Cutter entered a 'Miss Hitler' contest — The terror group was “amassing weapons and recipes for bomb-making”

Detective Bell, added:

“They share a real toxic extreme ideology which is a danger to the public, the same ideology that we have seen manifested in the tragic attack in New Zealand, the murder of Jo Cox MP and the attack at Finsbury Park mosque in 2017.

“This group was amassing weapons and recipes for bomb-making. They communicated through secret channels to recruit others to their cause. Left unchecked they presented a real threat to the public.”

Det Chief Supt Bell also raised concerns about the rise of right-wing extremism:

“We have seen a significant increase of right-wing referrals to our Prevent programme and we will investigate the threat as robustly as we would any other terrorist group, as well as training our officers on the signs to look out for and working with communities to increase awareness.

“Terrorists and extremists use this kind of ideology to create discord, distrust and fear among our communities and we strive to counter this.

“I would encourage people to report hate crime to us and it will be taken seriously.”

Every year thousands of reports from the public help police tackle the terrorist threat. If you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right, trust your instincts and ACT by reporting to police in confidence at gov.uk/ACT.

Reporting won’t ruin lives, but it could save them. Action Counters Terrorism. Remember, in an emergency, always dial 999. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.