Teenager accused of planning synagogue attack had 'to-do' list of weapons, court told

A teenager accused of planning a terrorist attack on a nearby synagogue had a "to-do list" of weapons and explosives and spent Christmas Day researching mass killers, a court has heard.

The boy, who was 15-years-old at the time and cannot be named because of his age, is accused of amassing an arsenal of weapons for a planned attack on a synagogue in Newcastle, after he joined a far-right group called 'The Base'. When officers raided the home he shared with his father in a village in Northumberland on 20 February last year, they found his bedroom was adorned with white supremacist flags.

Jurors at Leeds Crown Court heard that the teenager had written out a plan in a journal which included a "to-do list" to "get more crossbow bolts, body armour, build more muscle, plan, practice, set year, write manifesto, build main bomb". The court heard that he had listed explosives and knives in his diary under "things I will need" and had written out a plan which included "blowing up shit, killing with knives or machetes, then quickly head back to secluded area and wait for police".

The court also heard that he had a collection of weapons, including a crossbow. The boy wrote: "I think the main reason I'm targeting the police and government is that they are the reason white people are killed raped and discriminated against by the invaders.

"The reason for this is to inspire others in countries as restrictive as mine and also to start a race war in the UK. "Also do not charge anyone, this was my doing, nobody else would be involved." The jury heard how, in messages to 'The Base', the boy described himself as an "eco-fascist" and an "accelerationist" - someone who wants to encourage a race war through terrorist attacks - and said he wanted "to be a part of a group that is active".

Teen researched school shooters, court heard In December, he downloaded the manifesto of Stephan Balliet, who killed two people in an attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany, in 2019. The court also heard how on Christmas Eve, the teenager searched for a video of a homemade black powder rifle, and researched Arda Kucukyetim, an 18-year-old who livestreamed his mass stabbing in Turkey in August 2024.

On Christmas Day, the teenager researched school shooters and watched a video of a homemade "zip gun". He shared a picture with 'The Base' on Boxing Day, which showed him posing with an air rifle, wearing a skull mask and German military camouflage jacket.The same day, he downloaded a document called the White Resistance Manual to his computer.

Read more:Teenager accused of planning synagogue attack was arrested in school uniformTeenager prepared attack on synagogue after joining far-right group On New Year's Eve, he looked up homemade .22 ammunition and an FGC-9, a 3D printed firearm. The boy denies preparing acts of terrorism, membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation, possession of terrorist documents and dissemination of terrorist documents.

The trial continues..