Three ‘Nazis’ planned terror attacks as they prepared for race war, jury told

A jury at Sheffield Crown Court was told that Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, were “right-wing extremists” who were preparing to use firearms, explosives and a range of bladed weapons in their attacks.

They were arrested when security services believed an attack could be imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their group, the court heard on Wednesday (Mar 5).

Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, said the defendants had acquired or were trying to acquire a “wide variety of weapons” including swords, knives, axes, spears and crossbows as well as gathering information on explosives and firearms.

He said the preparations they were making included “taking steps to complete the manufacture” of a 3D printed semi-automatic firearm.

Mr Sandiford said: “The prosecution say that these three defendants were right-wing extremists who regarded themselves as National Socialists, or Nazis, and they supported the National Socialist movement in the UK, such as it is or indeed was.”

He said the defendants followed a cause which embraced an admiration for Adolf Hitler, white supremacy, a “hatred towards black and other non-white races”, and glorification and admiration for mass killers who have targeted the black and Muslim community.

He told a jury of seven men and five women that the trio all held a “belief that there must soon be a race war between the white and other races”.

Mr Sandiford said that, at the time of their arrest in February 2024, “all three were involved in making preparations for acts of terrorism in furtherance of their political, racial or ideological causes”.

He said the three were also gathering equipment such as riot shields, body armour and gas masks in readiness for a race war.

The prosecutor told the jury that the defendants formed a group called Einsatz 14 in January 2024, with “like-minded extremists” who wanted to “go to war for their chosen cause”.

Mr Sandiford explained that Einsatz 14 included three undercover officers and the police intervened in February 2024 when it became clear the defendants had identified potential targets and there was a threat of an “imminent attack”.

Ringrose, of Cannock, Staffordshire; Pitzettu, of Mickleover, Derbyshire; and Stewart, of Tingley, Wakefield, deny a charge of preparing acts of terrorism and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

Ringrose also denies manufacturing a prohibited weapon.