A Scottish neo-Nazi who shared instructions for building a homemade machine gun has been found guilty of terrorism by a Glasgow court.
James Farrell, 32, also pleaded guilty to expressing antisemitic, neo-Nazi and racist views. His trial, which took place at the High Court in Glasgow, led to him being convicted under the Terrorism Act, the Daily Mail reported.
According to reports, Farrell was in communication with other extremists from other regions in the UK through the Telegram messaging app, over which they passed back and forth instructions on building a do-it-yourself automatic firearm.
In March 2022, other members of the group were convicted of Terrorism Act offenses.
The courtroom heard that the defendants exchanged a manual on committing acts of terrorism, shared racist beliefs and videos of violence.
The head of Police Scotland’s counter terrorism unit Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Houston praised the conviction.
“Farrell not only expressed views which are totally unacceptable in a civilized society but his actions in sharing material of this nature had the potential of significantly endangering the public,” he said.
“His conviction is testament to the work of Police Scotland officers and shows the value of working in partnership with our colleagues in counter terrorism policing across the UK.”
He added: “James Farrell’s conviction sends out a clear message that terrorist activities of any nature will not be tolerated and Police Scotland officers will continue to investigate anyone who engages in criminality linked to extreme groups or ideologies.”