Neo-Nazi terror suspect used Donald Trump's comments and Labour Party antisemitism to justify actions
A neo-Nazi terror suspect likened the right-wing ideology of outlawed National Action to views held by Donald Trump and the Labour Party, a court heard.
Garry Jack, 23, claimed the US President’s description of African countries as “s**tholes” and Mexicans as “rapists” were proof these opinions were not unique to the banned group.
He also pointed to allegation of antisemitism made against Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party, and asked police if Mr Corbyn should also be regarded as a terrorist.
Jack along with Mark Jones, 24, Alice Cutter, 22, and Connor Scothern, 18, denies a charge of belonging to the terror group, which was proscribed in December 2016.
A jury at Birmingham Crown Court heard a transcript of comments Jack made in police interview after he was arrested in September, 2018.
The defendants are alleged to have been posting in an online chat group entitled Triple K Mafia, which the prosecution claim was National Action under a new name.
Naomi Parsons, prosecuting, read out the statements made by Jack, where he made the remarks.
Jack claimed he continued to communicate with other alleged members of the group after it was banned because he “didn’t have many friends”.
When he was asked about his mixed-race niece and non-white step brother, he answered: “I don’t resent anybody from my family and my love for my family is unconditional.”
The jury were also shown crude images stored by the other members accused of
being part of National Action.
Scothern’s Motorola mobile phone was seized by police after his arrest in September last year.
It was found to have an offensive image of a black toddler in some kind of glass tank, with text referring to her as a “pet”.
The caption read: “Look at my new pet niguana”.
Jurors heard police also found a number of distressing memes on Jones’ Samsung mobile in September 2017.
One shows a Nazi death squad, labelled “the boys”, executing Jews, who are labelled as “cold ones”.
Another shows an emaciated person, who may be a concentration camp inmate, with the text “Jew – why u no eat food?”.
The jury were also shown a bow measuring more than 1.5metres in length, which was found at Scothern’s address.
The court previously heard Scothern claimed in police interview that the bow belonged to convicted National Action member Nathan Pryke.
Cutter and Jones, of Sowerby Bridge, Halifax, West Yorkshire, deny the charges alongside Scothern, of Nottingham, and Jack, of Shard End, Birmingham.
The trial continues.
