Teenager who looked up festival as attack target detained for terror offences

A teenage Muslim convert who looked up the Isle of Wight Festival as a potential target for a terror attack has been detained for seven years.

As part of his plot, the 16-year-old, who was 15 at the time and cannot be named because of his age, also looked up weapons, vehicles and stab vests, and obtained a knife by July 2022, Kingston Crown Court heard during the trial.

After dismissing the festival as a target because he did not have a car or other vehicle, the youth drew up plans to stab people who worked with him at a specialist education provider, the court heard previously.

He has now been sentenced to seven years’ detention with a one-year period of extended licence at the same court after he was convicted of one count of preparing acts of terrorism, three counts of disseminating terrorist publications and one count of possessing a knife in public.

As part of his research, the defendant used the search terms “gun Isle of Wight”, “fast lorry”, “how many people are going to Isle of Wigh fest”, “Isle of Wight Festival gate” and “Isle of Wight Festival gate names”, jurors were told.

The teenager discussed his plans with others online as he received messages such as: “I heard you were going to attack the festival, is this true?”

His ideology was influenced by the terrorist group Daesh (also known as the so-called Islamic State), police said.

A handwritten note to his family in the event anything happened to him, which said whatever he did would be driven by hatred of non-believers, was found after his arrest, jurors were told.

He is also said to have tried to convert his grandmother to Islam in the note.

His plans were eventually foiled by the FBI, who alerted UK counter-terror police to a user of the messaging app Discord who was plotting an attack on July 11 2022.

The teenager converted to Islam in late 2021, and five tutors who worked with him became concerned about his developing beliefs.

The court previously heard the defendant is autistic but “bright, articulate and capable of exchanging ideas with others”.

One tutor noticed the defendant had a picture of Osama bin Laden as his phone screen picture around a year and a half before his arrest, but was not too concerned as he “was often trying to shock people with what he said”.

The same tutor also said the defendant told him he had become involved in an online anti-gay group “with Muslims in it” before his conversion.

Staff had considered referring him to the Government’s Prevent anti-radicalisation programme but the teenager became angry when he heard about this, jurors were told.

Rossano Scamardella KC, defending, said: “The Isle of Wight Festival came and went, he was a boy who couldn’t drive, who had no access to a car, and we say the fact that the festival came and went must be relevant to the issue of culpability.”

He asked the court to distinguish between “obsessive research and genuine preparation for acts of terrorism”.

Mrs Justice McGowan sentenced the defendant to seven years’ detention with a one-year period of extended licence, as well as a 10-year notification period on Monday.

She said: “You are still young and you have a number of conditions which make it hard for you to think through the consequences.

“You are intelligent and you have the potential to make something good with your life.”

She added: “You thought about killing two people who had offended you and your religion but both had tried to help you.

“The insults made you feel that you were entitled to punish them.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Thames Valley Police’s Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: “We know that terrorist groups use their toxic rhetoric to try to exploit vulnerable people.

“This case was particularly concerning because a teenager had gone so far as taking active steps to prepare for an attack. Thanks to a swift response we were able to stop him, and he has now been sentenced to imprisonment as a result of his actions.

“Where we can, we really do prefer to intervene early and divert young people away from extremism long before it gets to this point.

“So if you are worried that someone you know is being drawn down a path of extremism, please do act by telling someone. There is support and advice available through ACT Early and Action Counters Terrorism.”