A 22-year-old individual, Alfie Coleman from Great Notley in Essex, has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for plotting a large-scale gun attack, following his capture by MI5 in an undercover operation.
Coleman, who was found guilty of preparing for terrorist activities after a retrial at the Old Bailey, started delving into extreme right-wing content online at the age of 14. He accumulated a list of individuals at his workplace, including colleagues and customers, whom he labeled with racial slurs or as “race traitors.” Coleman even drafted a diary “manifesto” outlining his targets, such as the Lord Mayor of London and a local mosque.
His plans were disrupted when MI5 agents engaged with him in encrypted conversations as he tried to procure weapons. Coleman’s escalating online presence in extreme right-wing circles raised red flags for authorities in the summer of 2023.
In September 2023, Coleman attempted to purchase firearms in France to target a mosque but abandoned the scheme. Subsequently, in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, Coleman, then 19, was arrested by armed counter-terrorism police while trying to acquire a Makarov pistol, ammunition, and magazines from an undercover officer.
Upon searching Coleman’s residence, law enforcement discovered a range of items reflecting his violent ideology, such as extreme right-wing literature, a Swastika-adorned rock, and various weapons including knives, an air rifle, and a small stone axe. Electronic devices revealed his correspondence with a white supremacist organization and detailed plans for terrorist activities, including hijacking a plane and attacking the Lord Mayor’s residence.
During his trial, Coleman admitted to attempting to possess a firearm and ammunition but denied preparing for a terrorist attack. Despite expressing feelings of loneliness and mental health struggles during Covid-19 lockdowns, he was convicted of possessing materials useful for terrorism.
Counter-terrorism officials highlighted Coleman’s radicalization through online exposure to extreme right-wing influences, emphasizing the importance of vigilance against such ideologies.