Tingley man who planned machete terror attack in Leeds sentenced by judge

Brogan Stewart, 25, of Syke Avenue, Tingley, Christopher Ringrose, 34, from Cannock and Marco Pitzettu, 25, from Derby were found guilty in May of planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues.

On Friday, Stewart was jailed for 11 years, Ringrose for 10 years and Pitzettu for eight years by a judge who said she believed they all continued to adhere to their extreme right-wing ideology.

READ MORE: Leeds villager was one of three Nazi-worshipping extremists planning “escalating” attacks

Ringrose, 35, Pitzettu, 25, and Stewart, 25, – who are not believed to have met in the real world before they appeared together in the dock – were preparing to use more than 200 weapons they had amassed, including machetes, swords, crossbows and an illegal stun gun, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Ringrose had also 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm at the time of his arrest and was trying to get the remaining parts.

Presiding at Sheffield Crown Court, judge Mrs Justice Cutts outlined how the online group the trio belonged to were preparing for an attack on an Islamic Education Centre in Leeds before they were arrested by counter-terror police.

In May, a jury rejected claims the defendants were fantasists with no intention of carrying out their threats and found Ringrose, of Cannock, Staffordshire, Pitzettu, of Mickleover, Derbyshire, and Stewart, of Tingley, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, guilty of 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 was also convicted of manufacturing a prohibited weapon.

The judge said she believed each of the defendants would be dangerous after their release from prison and gave them extended sentences, with additional licence periods.

She said the trio’s ideology was “laid bare” in a 374-page dossier of internet activity put before the jury.

The judge said: “These pages were filled with hate towards black and other non-white races, especially Muslim people and immigrants, with ideas of white supremacy and racial purity together with a belief that there must soon be a race war.”

She said this was coupled with the “glorification and admiration of the policies and actions of Hitler and the German Nazi Party, including antisemitism, and of mass killers who had targeted black or Muslim communities.”

The nine-week-long trial heard how the defendants formed an online group called Einsatz 14 in January 2024, with “like-minded extremists” who wanted to “go to war for their chosen cause”.

Stewart told the group: “Hitler did more for his people than any politician. And for Britain to have a p*** and zionist in charge of the country is absolutely outrageous.”

Prosecutors said this last comment was a reference to the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The jury was also shown a short video Stewart posted of himself wearing a German army helmet, a Nazi armband and a skull face covering.

Prosecutors explained how Stewart discussed torturing a Muslim leader using his “information extraction kit” with an undercover officer.

Stewart called himself “Fuhrer” of the Einsatz 14 group and appointed undercover officer called Blackheart as the “Obergruppenfuhrer”, which the other two defendants also joined.

Potential recruits to Einsatz 14 were sent a vetting form with questions such as: “Out of so many different options, who would you say you hold most of your hatred for – kikes, n******, shitskins, fags etc and why”.

Stewart developed a mission statement for the group which said its “basic duties” included to “target mosques, Islamic education centres and other similar locations”.

And he sent Blackheart details of the Islamic Education Centre on Mexborough Road in Leeds, including a Google Maps image.

The officer asked Stewart for more detailed information about the plan and he replied that they could smash windows or ambush someone, the court heard.

According to prosecutors, Stewart said: “It depends how far we are willing to go. It could be a beating with batons and bats or something more serious.”