Un Neo-Nazi was sentenced to a suspended prison term by a judge after he suggested that he read classic literature.
Ben John (21), who was described by police as a white supremist and neoNazi, received a two year suspended sentence from Leicester Crown Court in august last year.
John was asked by a judge for a reading of famous works such as Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities. He was also given a five year serious crime prevention order.
John was asked by Judge Timothy Spencer, QC on Thursday to list the books he has read in the time since their last meeting.
The judge stated, “It’s clear that you’ve tried to organize your life,”
“I’d like to see what you read about the classic literature that you mentioned you are interested in.
You will be asked to note down what literature you have read between our last meetings.
A jury found John guilty of having a list of information that could be used to aid a terrorist in committing or planning an act of terror.
Judge Timothy Spencer, QC, told Ben John (pictured), that he would be able to stay in prison so long as he avoided white supremacy literature. He also recommended reading books by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.
John, convicted by the Leicester Crown Court jury for having in his possession information which could prove useful to someone committing or planning an act of terror (stock image).
Following the discovery by a computer technician of a book containing blueprints and instructions for building various explosive devices, the Terrorism Act Section 58, with a maximum penalty of 15 year’s imprisonment, was brought to light.
John Addison Drive Lincoln police officer said John also had 67.788 bulk-downloads to hard drives containing “a wealth” of antisemitic, white supremist, and other material.
John told Judge Spencer about what he’d read since his sentencing hearing and said that Shakespeare was more enjoyable than Jane Austen, but Jane Austen is still my favorite author to a certain extent.
“Well, I find that encouraging,” the judge responded.
John was told by Judge Spencer that he had acknowledged the ‘publicity’ of his case.
John was asked to go back to court within six months so that the judge could check on his progress.
John (pictured), had collected 67.788 documents as bulk downloads. These contained an abundance of anti-Semitic, white supremist, and anti-Semitic material, and were also linked to Satanist organizations.
Computer investigators from Forensics discovered a controversial publication in the 1970s called The Anarchist Cookbook. It included instructions and diagrams on how to make explosives inside his hard drive.
Judge Spencer stated, “I’m encouraged by what you’ve written for me” and “I’m encouraged by your efforts in seeking employment. I wish you all the best.”
The Attorney General requested the Court of Appeal review of the sentencing of the defendant.
Suella Braverman QC decided to refer the sentence the Court of Appeal after Hope Not Hate had sent an open letter asking that the case be reviewed under the Unduly Loving Sentence (ULS).
The letter stated that this sentence was meant to send a message about how courts may treat violent right-wing extremists with leniency.
A jury from Leicester Crown Court found him guilty of possessing information that could be used for the preparation of a terrorist act. The maximum sentence in prison was 15 years.
However, Spencer ruled that Spencer’s offense was likely to have been a youthful folly.
John heard him tell John during sentencing, “You’re a lonely man with no friends or family.”
John said John was more susceptible to recruit by people who are more inclined to take action, but he did not believe that any harm would have been caused.
John was made to promise not research more right-wing information by John.
He was then asked by the judge: “Have your read Dickens?” Austen? You can start with Pride and Prejudice and Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.
“Think of Hardy. Trollope is a good example.
“On January 4, I need you to tell me your reading and then you can be tested.
He said, “I will be following you Ben John every step of your journey.” You will know the outcome if you don’t let me down.
He had been brought to the attention by authorities in January 2018.
John, however, wrote to his school in May 2018, claiming to belong to ‘The Lincoln Fascist Underground. His letter included a tirade about gay people and immigrants, and led to Prevent’s more extensive intervention and further psychiatric evaluation.
He didn’t let that stop him. In April 2019, he had copied over 9,000 documents related to terror and right-wing ideology onto his hard drive. Another 2,600 were added a few months later, in August 2019.
These documents were discovered only after John’s student housing was searched by the police in January 2020.
These documents included seven documents the judge called’many and many viable instructions for how to make destructive explosions’.
Lincolnshire Police needed to conduct a forensic analysis of John’s hard drives, as they were wiped by John of Addison Drive in Lincoln a month prior to the raid.
These documents contained a ‘concerning amount’ of imagery and right-wing literature.
It is against the law in the UK to possess material which could aid terrorist activities, as per Section 58 of The Terrorism Act.
John had amassed 67,788 documents in bulk downloads, which contained a wealth of white supremist and anti-Semitic material and police also found material related to a Satanist organisation.
Judge Spencer stated that it was repellent to anyone right-thinking.
“This content is mostly related to Nazi, Fascist and Adolf Hitler inspired ideology.
“But, there were also substantial quantities of contemporary material that espouse extreme right-wing and white-supremacist material.
You suggested that the case was merely academic curiosity. This is not true. I believe that you are aligned to these ideologies to some extent and have taken the same views as me.
British military experts from Porton Down, near Salisbury examined the bomb-making literature and found seven documents that were accurate in their instructions for making explosives.
John’s lawyer, Mr. Bentley, however, claimed that John’s client was “very young” and “not likely to cause any harm”.
He stated that even though he still had the documents on his computer in 2019, he had been engaging well with Prevent team members at that time. Mr Bentley said the whole case again John was ‘really about not deleting items on a computer’, which the judge described as an ‘over-simplification’ of the case.
Bentley claimed that “Violence” is a necessary component of terrorist acts. This isn’t the case that he planned a terrorist act.
“He was fascinated with extreme right-wing views. He shared these views.
“He struggled with emotion as a teenager, but he’s now clearly an intelligent young man with greater insight.
“He’s not a lost cause, and can live a normal, social life.”
At the close of the hearing the judge gave a kudos to all those who had worked on this case.
James Manning of Counter TerrorismPolicing East Midlands was the one who commented on the sentence.
“He had a lot of National Socialist, anti-Semitic material that indicated his fascination with a white supremacist ideology and support for an extremist satanic group. This is becoming increasingly concerning for law enforcement agencies.
“The terrorist material that he was discovered with is very dangerous and he obtained it to advance his ideology.
“It signifies the danger that he, and others who follow this hateful ideology, pose to national security.
“It wasn’t light reading or material that most people would be concerned with for legal reasons. The investigation took over 11 months.