Walsall white supremacist who “hated Muslims and plotted to shoot minorities” found guilty of terror offences

A dangerous far-right terrorist from Walsall, who “hated Muslims and plotted to shoot minorities”, has been found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court today for a strong of terror related offences.

White supremacist Vaughn Dolphin, who wanted to harm communities he opposed, was found guilty of possessing explosive material and manuals on how to make improvised explosives and firearms.

The 20-year-old fanatic from Walsall Wood Road in Aldridge, Walsall, was on a public services course at college when he was arrested on 27 June 2022, at an address in Cheshire on suspicion of terrorism offences.

Police officers raided Dolphin’s home and discovered an array of material including an inert World War II Nazi grenade and mortar, a decommissioned rife, machine gun rounds and a homemade gun.

Dolphin had a keen interest in terrorist attacks in New Zealand and the US including downloading manifestos drawn up by far-right extremists who draw inspiration from neo-Nazi ideology and white supremacist movements that dream of to starting a race war.

In a vile post shared on a far-right social media chatroom, he vented his Islamophobia by writing “God, I hate Muslims”.

A video of the horrific 2019 New Zealand Christchurch terror attack, which resulted in 51 Muslim worshippers being shot to death in a mosque by an Islamophobic far-right extremist, was also found in Dolphin’s possession.

Some of the ‘how-to’ guides retrieved from Dolphin’s bedroom – which was littered with Nazi paraphernalia representing the Waffen-SS – included instructions on making homemade plastic explosives, palnning and carrying out arson attacks, and building a homemade 12-gauge shotgun and an automatic assault shotgun. The research led to Dolphin making his own unlicensed homemade gun.

Amongst the sickening views held by Dolphin was that people from an ethnic minority background who “act like decent white people” would be allowed to live following a race war, but “the monkeys that chimp out in Minnesota should be shot”.

Some of the shocking posts shared by Dolphin in far-right chatrooms revealed he was mixing gunpowder and producing a hand-held “cannon” with which he would carry out an atrocity “that would make Ted Kaczynski [the American Unabomber terrorist] blush”.

Additionally, he uploaded selfie videos to far-right chatrooms in which he wore a gas mask while attempting to make explosives in his kitchen.

During Dolphin’s trial it was revealed that encrypted folders were found in the right-wing fanatic’s possession that were filed under “Boogaloo”, which the prosecution claimed was a “significant” reference to “race war” in far-right circles.

Prosecuting barrister Matthew Brook described the term as “A race war that white supremacist groups want because if they think there is a race war they can then rise up and take control.”

Today at Birmingham Crown Court, Dolphin was found guilty of two offences of possessing chemicals to make explosive material.

The terrorist was also found guilty of six offences relating to the possession and distribution of terrorist manuals.

He was also convicted of two further charges of disseminating a terrorist publication, being reckless as to whether terrorist activity would be encouraged, as well as a charge of possession of a firearm.

A video was shown to the jury of Dolphin wearing homemade body armour adorned with Nazi symbols.

As the court verdict read out on Friday, Dolphin nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders while keeping his hands inside his pockets.

He is due to be sentenced on 11 May for his list of terrorist crimes.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Payne, head of Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands, said: “This was clearly a young man with a really dangerous mindset.

“I’ve got no doubt at all that his intent was to cause harm. His mindset is one of a dangerous individual equipping themselves to harm others who did not look like him or who he disagreed with.

“Extremists use this kind of ideology to create discord, distrust and fear among our communities, our work to target dangerous individuals continues.”