Three Men Convicted in UK for Plotting Terror Attack on Mosques, Synagogues

Three men have been convicted in the United Kingdom for planning terrorist attacks targeting mosques and synagogues, as part of a far-right extremist plot driven by racist ideology and belief in an impending race war, as per Al Jazeera.

Brogan Stewart and Marco Pitzettu, both 25, and 34-year-old Christopher Ringrose were found guilty of multiple terrorism offences by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday. The trio had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Sentencing is scheduled for July 17.

According to prosecutors, the men were members of an encrypted Telegram group called Einsatz 14, where they openly discussed committing acts of violence, including assassinating former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and torturing Muslim religious leaders.

“It was their belief that there must soon come a time when there would be a race war between the white and other races,” said lead prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford during the trial.

The men were convicted of planning acts of terrorism, as well as two counts of collecting information likely to be useful to someone preparing a terrorist act. Christopher Ringrose was also found guilty of manufacturing a component for a 3D-printed FGC9 firearm — a weapon commonly associated with far-right terrorist plots.

Their arrest in February 2024 came after counter-terrorism officers uncovered disturbing evidence of detailed planning. The investigation revealed that the group had discussed logistics for attacks on religious sites and had stockpiled extremist material and weapons components.

“These men espoused vile racist views and advocated for violence, all to support their extreme right-wing mindset,” said Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East. “They have today been rightfully convicted of multiple terrorism offences.”

The case has raised renewed concerns about the growing threat of far-right extremism in the UK, particularly at a time when political rhetoric around immigration is becoming increasingly polarized.

The convictions come amid a broader national debate over immigration, with the Labour government, under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, facing criticism for adopting more hardline policies in response to rising far-right sentiment. In a recent speech, Starmer claimed that immigration risked turning the UK into an “island of strangers” — a statement widely condemned by rights groups as echoing the language of white nationalist movements.

The extremist ideology behind the plot was rooted in the so-called “great replacement” conspiracy theory — a racist and anti-Semitic belief that immigrants and Muslims are deliberately replacing white populations in Western countries, allegedly orchestrated by Jewish elites.

This ideology has inspired numerous violent attacks in recent years, including the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand.