Gabriel Budasz, 24, who encouraged his followers on social media to carry out acts of terrorism - including against Jews in the country - was sentenced to 12 years in prison in Britain. He was convicted of four counts of encouraging terrorism, one count of distributing terrorist propaganda and one count of sending an electronic message with intent to cause distress or anxiety.
Budasz, who was born in Poland and lived in Weston-super-Mare, in North Somerset, UK, published detailed instructions on how to make explosives from readily available household items, and created a plastic gun using a 3D printer.
Judge Brian Forster wrote in the sentence, published Thursday: "The evidence reveals that you had a clear interest in white supremacy, other terrorists including Brenton Tarrant, and massacres, including the shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand."
The judge later said: "You also posted on Twitter: 'I'm going to build a bomb'. You distributed instructions on how to build a bomb, with the intention of encouraging terrorism." Among the materials Budasz posted online was a video of him wearing clothes similar to the outfit Trent wore the day he live-streamed the 2019 murder of 51 Muslims at two Christchurch mosques.
"You said things like 'kill the Jews, kill the political leaders'. You also encouraged the need to take action," Judge Forster added. Budasz posted a video on Telegram with "horrifying and graphic" footage and gave instructions on how to torture and eventually murder a victim with a knife.
The British Jewish security organization CST began investigating the defendant's online activity in September 2022. The organization said they collected evidence from Budasz's social media accounts, and handed the evidence over to counter-terrorism police in the summer of 2023. Budasz was arrested on August 1, 2023.
During his trial, Budasz claimed that the videos he posted online were meant to be funny, from the point of view of a "comedic" far-right figure. However, Judge Forster said that "there is no direct connection between Budasz's mental disorder and his crimes." During a search of Budasz s home in August 2023, various items of a far-right nature were seized books, masks and memorabilia, as well as a 3D-printed firearm.
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