‘Anglo Jihadi’ accused of terror plan ‘not just online fantasist’, trial told

A self-styled “Anglo Jihadi” accused of planning a terrorist attack was “not just an online fantasist”, prosecutors have told a jury.

Muslim convert Jordan Richardson, 21, is alleged to have been planning an “atrocity”, with possible targets including a shopping centre, after becoming interested in an “extremist, fundamentalist” interpretation of the religion.

Leeds Crown Court jurors heard Richardson “regularly expressed a wish to kill Jews” and made a joke about going into a synagogue in a suicide vest.

He was arrested on his way to work in Howden, East Yorkshire, in December last year with instructions on how to make mustard gas and a note which said: “Throw all grenades into crowd; Shoot bystanders; Stab anyone who comes close; Do not get taken alive.”

A crossbow and a knife were found at Richardson’s home, and prosecutors say he had accessed material online which “showed his interest in and affiliation with extreme Islamist ideology, (including) material depicting and glorifying terrorist actions”.

The court has heard one possible target of the defendant, whose Instagram accounts included one with the handle ‘Anglo Jihadi’, was Meadowhall shopping centre, near Sheffield, which was referenced in his social media posts.

Jurors heard Richardson says his behaviour was a form of fantasy and escape from the rest of his life, where he felt depressed and isolated, and that he was “role playing the character of an extremist”.

In her closing speech to jurors, prosecutor Katherine Robinson said there was evidence Richardson “wasn’t just an online fantasist” but that he was “going to put his jihadi fantasies into reality”.

Ms Robinson told the court: “He was a man who kept a lethal crossbow and knife in his house, who had a recipe for explosives, who was carrying around a detailed set of notes for how to make a chemical warfare agent.

“In the same bag, a plan to put all these things into effect, having suggested a location three weeks earlier.”

Jurors previously heard Richardson posted a video on Instagram of the exterior of Meadowhall shopping centre followed by a brightly coloured clip featuring pictures of rainbows and dolphins, overlaid with the words: “How life feels when you finally give up and just start killing people brutally.”

Ms Robinson said the stereotypical image of a terrorist has changed over time, telling jurors: “Sadly we know these days terrorism takes all forms and involves all kinds of people you might not expect.

“We have now what we call homegrown terrorists.

“There is information readily available online for people who 30 years ago would have had no idea about how to make a bomb.

“People don’t need to travel to other countries to meet people with a similar mindset… This allows people to form networks and encourage extreme views.”

Richardson, of Oliver Close, Howden, denies preparing for acts of terrorism.

He also denies the collection of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and distributing terrorist publications.

The trial continues.