A TEENAGER has admitted that his plans to blow up a police station and start a race war was just a ‘fantasy’ and denied he was a neo-Nazi.
Luke Skelton is accused of searching up the ingredients for a homemade bomb and had written his own political manifesto over a 12-month period.
The 18-year-old told jurors at Teesside Crown Court that the far-right messages he wrote on a variety of social media platforms were just part of an ‘ego-trip’ and the threats were ‘meaningless’.
Under cross examination from prosecution barrister, Nicholas De La Poer QC, the defendant said he never intended to hurt anybody.
The barrister said: “Between October 2020 and November 2021, you believed in a neo-Nazi ideology.”
Skelton replied: “I don’t believe that I ever said I was - I don’t believe so.”
The counsel said: “Is it right that during that period you believed that white people were superior to everyone else?”
He replied: “I may have done so at that time period.”
Read more: Teenager accused of plotting to blow up police station 'embarrassed' by extremist views
Turning his attention to Skelton’s online usage, Mr De La Poer asked: “Do you agree that you had images and videos of Adolf Hitler on your digital devices?”
The teenager replied: “Yes, in a joking context.”
The barrister continued: “Do you agree that you used his name on a Discord (a social media platform) handle?” He replied: “As a joke to push boundaries.”
Dealing with the defendant’s ‘final note’, the barrister asked if it was addressing his plan to start a race war and carry out the threatened terrorist attacks.
The teenager replied: “I didn’t plan on doing anything, it was just part of my fantasy – that’s why I wrote that.”
Skelton added that the messages and postings were an ‘ego-trip’ and their contents were ‘meaningless’ as he had no intention of carrying out the threats.
During his evidence in chief, the court heard how Skelton would post the messages on a number of social media platforms in an attempt to provoke a reaction from people but never planned to actually carry out any ‘terrorist attack’.
When asked how he felt about the posts now, Skelton replied he was ‘ashamed’ and ‘embarrassed by them’.
Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how he shared a number of racist and abusive videos across social media networks and shared his views for around a year before he was arrested, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Skelton also created a ‘final note’ explaining the reasoning behind his plan to incite a race war by launching terrorist attacks after talking of his admiration for Adolf Hitler and British Fascist Oswald Mosely.
The autistic teenager travelled to Newcastle from his Washington home to photograph one of the city’s police stations as well as creating his own ‘political manifesto’ supporting white supremacist theories.
Jurors heard how he took to online social media networks to share his race hate and downloaded videos of other terrorist attacks including one of Anders Breivik, a far-right terrorist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Skelton, of Oxclose, Washington, denies a charge of preparing to commit acts of terrorism.
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.
For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article