Feuerkrieg Division (FKD)
- Whilst FKD was primarily an online group, ***.
- For example, a child subject to reporting restrictions and Paul Dunleavy, both FKD members who aspired to obtain firearms to conduct activity in support of their ERWT ideology, were both arrested under the Terrorism Act (TACT) 2000 in 2019. The child subject to reporting restrictions was sentenced in February 2021 to a two-year youth rehabilitation order after pleading guilty to ten counts of collecting information likely to be useful to those involved in acts of terrorism (S.58 TACT 2000) and one count of disseminating terrorist publications (S.2 TACT 2006). Paul Dunleavy was sentenced in November 2020 to five and a half years' imprisonment for the preparation of terrorist acts (S.5 TACT 2006),[1] and two years' imprisonment (to run concurrently) for nine counts of collecting information likely to be useful to those involved in acts of terrorism (S.58 TACT 2000).
- Another notable disruption is that of Luke Hunter, an FKD affiliate who created videos and propaganda for the group. Hunter had a huge online footprint in the Right-Wing Extremist space, administering his own website, hosting podcasts, creating propaganda and running a popular Telegram channel—all of which espoused extreme and violent views, frequently inciting ERWT-inspired attacks against perceived enemies. Luke Hunter was sentenced in December 2020 to four years and two months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to four counts of encouragement of terrorism (S.1 TACT 2006), three counts of disseminating terrorist publications (S.2 TACT 2006), and a single count of collecting information likely to be useful to those involved in acts of terrorism (S.58 TACT 2000).
166. JTAC assesses that external pressures (from law enforcement in the form of arrests for terrorism offences as well as the proscription of organisations such as FKD) has resulted in individuals active in the online space becoming increasingly cautious about joining established terrorist groups.[2] It is also possible that reports of government online targeting of organisations has had an inhibiting effect—there have, for example, been media reports that RICU has infiltrated the Order of Nine Angles (ONA/O9A) movement: "Whitehall sources said the RICU operation was set to build a case for banning ONA, which is considered to be the most extreme Far-Right Network in the world."[3]
K. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism online environment poses a new challenge for the Intelligence Community, and there is still a long way to go when it comes to tackling what is largely an ungoverned space. The Head of Counter Terrorism Policing told the Committee that "the single biggest thing that keeps me awake at night is the proliferation of online and its ability to radicalise and incite people".[4] The Director General of MI5 pointed to the particular challenge of determining Extreme Right-Wing activity online which could translate into 'real-world' terrorist activity:
- ↑ Section 5 of the 2006 Terrorism Act provides that an offence is committed if: a) a person intends to commit acts of terrorism, or b) a person intends to assist another to commit such acts; and c) a person engages in any conduct in preparation for giving effect to his intention. Acts of terrorism are defined as being anything constituting an action taken for the purposes of terrorism.
- ↑ JTAC paper, 19 November 2020.
- ↑ 'Government propaganda unit is given secret mission to infiltrate neo-Nazis linked to murders and terror plots around the world', Mail on Sunday, 3 January 2021.
- ↑ Oral evidence - CTP, 28 April 2021.
62
