Left-wing anarchist guilty of terror offences after declaring he wanted to kill MPs
A left-wing anarchist has been found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism by compiling and sharing a bomb-making manual, after declaring that he wanted to kill at least 50 politicians.
Jacob Graham, 20, from Norris Green, Liverpool, dedicated his manual, called the “Freedom Encyclopaedia”, to “terrorists past and future, anarchists etc” and buried bomb-making chemicals in a secret woodland hide.
He wrote a document called “My Plan” in which he said he wanted to kill at least 50 people by attacking government buildings and politicians’ houses.
He also made 138 videos in which he demonstrated explosives and talked about “Judgement Day” and “standing up for working class people.”
On the wall in his bedroom Graham had printed out a picture of a car bomb exploding with the words: “Make politicians afraid to start their cars again.”
The jury at Manchester Crown Court acquitted Graham of planning a terrorist attack but found him guilty of preparing acts of terrorism by writing the Freedom Encyclopaedia, and of disseminating terrorist publications and possession of documents useful for terrorism.
He will be sentenced in March.
‘I have so much carnage to commit’
Graham bought a number of chemicals on the internet and conducted experiments in his back garden before burying some of the ingredients in Formby Woods, recording the location so he could return to the cache.
He also had all the computer files necessary to make a 3D-printed assault rifle called an FGC9 MkII and the printer on which to make it.
Graham came to idolise an American terrorist called Theodore Kaczynski – known as the Unabomber – after watching a Netflix series called Manhunt, and pledged to “finish what he started”, his trial heard.
From a remote cabin in Montana, Kaczynski carried out a 17-year mail bombing campaign, in which he targeted tech academics at universities, killing three people and injuring 23.
A pipe bomb made by Graham
A cache of chemicals was discovered at Graham’s home
He conducted experiments in his back garden
Graham made video diaries in which he recorded himself wearing a headset and speaking into the camera from his bedroom, with a teddy bear on the bed behind him.
He was motivated by a hatred of government, which he saw as oppressing working-class people, and had developed ecological concerns about pollution, destruction of forests, and the exploitation of natural resources.
Wearing a T-shirt and glasses, he said at one point: “I’ve got everything I need to start my revolution.”
Graham told police he was “left-wing” but “more like an anarchist” adding: “I don’t like the idea of a central control and I don’t really like the monarchy.”
His ideal government would be the size of “Merseyside or Liverpool”, he said, adding that he supported the Green Party and was an “environmentalist” who did not like the way that “corporations act and how they damage the Earth.”
“I think it is fair to say I was quite anti-government,” Graham told his trial. “I didn’t agree with the idea of it – the way certain things were handled, the pandemic, the cost of living.
“I didn’t agree with a group of small people being able to make decisions that affect a mass.”
Graham made a series of video diaries from his room
In a video on 21 June, Graham took out a machete with a red handle and tapped the blade, saying: “Can’t end my life yet, I have so much carnage to commit.”
In another video made in his bedroom on 9 August, Graham said: “If terrorism is standing up for what you think is right, standing up for the working class people of this country, most of us can’t afford to heat our homes or afford food, there needs to be someone to fix this problem. It is my responsibility to do this.”
He added: “I will be a homegrown terrorist because I was born on British soil. If they want to call me a justice warrior or a hero, call me that. If they want to call me scum, call me that because I won’t be here to listen to all of it.”
In another video, he threatened to attack Hugh Baird College, which he attended, saying: “I’m f****** ready, f****** bring it. I don’t care, I’ll kill every single last one of them.”
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Encyclopaedia for terrorists
Graham, who lived with his mother, sister and sister’s boyfriend, had downloaded a compendium of terrorist publications including the Mujahideen Handbook and the White Resistance Manual, which he stored in a folder called “Alexandria” after the fabled ancient library.
Graham used Discord and the encrypted Telegram app to communicate with others who shared his hatred of government in groups called Earth Militia, Total Earth Liberation and Neo-Luddite Action.
He shared his manual online – which included instructions on how to build a pipe bomb, gunpowder and plastic explosives, along with detonators and instructions on how the perpetrators could evade the police.
Annabel Darlow KC, prosecuting, told the jury: “The mindset of Mr Graham permeates throughout his written material, messages, and homemade video diaries.
“He wished to bring about the downfall of government and society. He expressed the view that he was sick and tired of living in a society that was deteriorating and destroying itself.”
The 20-year-old had files to make a 3D-printed assault rifle
Chemicals cache
When Graham was arrested on 26 May last year, police found a number of chemicals, each of which could be used as ingredients in various explosive mixtures.
Graham told his trial he felt like a character in a James Bond or Mission Impossible film or The Last Of Us, a post-apocalyptic video game and TV show.
He said he was “doomsday prepping” for “some sort of possible invasion, civil war, martial law, natural disasters, solar flares, floods, things like that”.
A woman casually walks into a convenience store and starts filling a bread crate with goods from one of the aisles.
A shop assistant tries to stop her, but she shrugs him off, undeterred. With the crate now full of items, she leaves without paying.
It is a scenario that is played out day in and day out across Britain, as retailers warn the surge in shoplifting is now “out of control”.
Four in five store owners tell Sky News they’ve experienced shoplifting in the last week.
I’m sitting in the security office of a busy city centre shop and I’m watching as a schoolboy walks in and helps himself to a sandwich, stuffing it into his jacket.
Watching with me is shop worker Anton Mavroianu who positions himself by the main entrance waiting for the youngster to leave.
When the boy does leave, Anton demands the item back. Instead of being frozen with fear that he’s been caught, the boy laughs and walks off.
“All we can do is try to stop them,” Anton tells me. “But this is just another day for us.”
Anton Mavroianu said he has been threatened with a knife while trying to stop shoplifters
A few weeks earlier, when Anton tried to stop a shoplifter who had stolen from the store, the man pulled out a knife and tried to attack him.
This terrifying incident is an example of the very real threat posed to shop workers as they try to stem the tide of brazen thefts.
Shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales have risen to the highest level in 20 years.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) also reports that theft-related losses cost the retail sector millions each year, adding strain to an industry already grappling with post-pandemic recovery and economic uncertainty.
For small businesses, which lack the resources of larger chains, persistent theft can threaten their very survival.
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Ricky Dougall owns a chain of convenience stores and says shoplifting cost his business around £100,000 last year.
“Shoplifting is a huge problem and it is what stops us from growing the business.
“People come in and help themselves like they own the place and when you call the police, most of the time, they don’t turn up.”
Ricky Dougall said part of the problem is how shoplifting is classified during sentencing
Mr Dougall says part of the problem is how this type of crime is classified.
Sentencing guidelines for thefts of under £200, so-called “low level shoplifting”, were relaxed in 2016. That is being blamed for the surge in cases.
An exclusive Sky News and Association of Convenience Stores survey shows that 80% of shopkeepers surveyed had an incident of retail crime in the past week.
The poll also found 94% of shopkeepers say that in their experience, shoplifting has got worse over the last year, with 83% not confident that the police will take action against the perpetrators of retail crime on their premises.
Paul Cheema from the Association of Convenience Stores says retailers are looking to Government to support them.
“I would say officials do not give a s*** about us retailers,” he tells me. “The losses are too big and I don’t think we can sustain that anymore.
“I would urge Keir Starmer to come and meet us and see up close the challenges that we are facing.”
Retailers have responded by investing heavily in security measures, from advanced surveillance systems to hiring more security staff.
But these investments come at a cost, often passed down to consumers through higher prices.
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I get chatting to Matt Roberts, head of retail in the store I am in. He worries about shoplifting, but he worries about the staff more.
“I would imagine they dread coming to work because they’re always on tenterhooks wondering whether something is going to happen today, whether they are going to have to try and confront someone.
“It’s a horrible feeling. It’s out of control and we need help.”
Matt Roberts says he is concerned for his staff, who have to confront shoplifters
The government has acknowledged the urgency of the issue. Home Secretary-led discussions with retail associations and law enforcement are underway to craft a comprehensive strategy.
In the King’s Speech, the government outlined details of a Crime and Policing Bill, which promised to “introduce stronger measures to tackle low level shoplifting”, as well as introducing a separate offence for assaulting a shop worker.
Children do not feel safe, a charity has warned, as a survey finds two-thirds of teens in England and Wales have a fear of violence.
The charity, which surveyed 10,000 children aged 13-17, found that 20% of teenagers have been victims of violence in the past 12 months.
“I think what shocked me most is how this is a problem that affects all of our children,” said Jon Yates, CEO of the Youth Endowment Fund.
“We found that two-thirds of all teenage children are afraid. And that fear is pretty real for a lot of them.”
He said it’s a fear so palpable that many teenage children are changing their patterns of behaviour, or have had it influence their daily decisions.
One third of teenage children – 33% – reported avoiding areas, whilst around 27% alter their travel routes or avoid public transport altogether to stay safe.
More worryingly, however, some say the fear of violence has led to mental health challenges, with 22% reporting difficulties sleeping, reduced appetite and concentrating in school.
Weapon carrying is also a concern for the charity, especially among vulnerable groups.
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From September: Young gangs of Wolverhampton
In England and Wales, 5% of all 13-17 year olds reported carrying a weapon in the past year, but that figure jumps to 21% for those suspended from school and 36% for children who have been excluded from school.
But Mr Yates said “shockingly” only 12% of children who repeatedly commit violence get any sort of support.
“That’s madness,” he said.
Jay*, 23, from Birmingham said depending on your environment, sometimes violence is hard to avoid.
“I’ve had friends be shot, I’ve got friends who have been stabbed, I had a friend die last month to be fair,” Jay told Sky News.
He said it is “damaging” because you never really get the opportunity to “heal”. He is now being supported by the charity Project Lifeline, but says before then it was difficult to find any hope.
“If you don’t have hope,” Jay added, “you can’t really get anywhere. It’s about finding that hope.”
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Mark Rodney, CEO of Lifeline Project, mentors at-risk young children and said he has learned that “not only the perpetrator carries the knife, the victim sometimes carries the knife”.
“And not only the perpetrator does the killing,” he added. “The victim sometimes does the killing, because that’s where we’re at.”
He said far too many families ask themselves “is my child safe going to school or coming home from school?” and adds the government must “actually start addressing people’s concerns”.
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From September: Home Sec vows to halve knife crime
The report also found that in 93% of cases where teenage children repeatedly harm others, adults intervene with punishments such as school discipline or police involvement.
However, only 12% of these children are offered support aimed at addressing the root causes of violence and preventing further harm.
Mr Yates said: “They go to school, they do something violent. They get excluded.”
He added: “We need to be much better at saying, ‘we’re not going to lose that child. We’re going to keep providing support to them. We’re going to keep providing a mentor’.
“Instead, we let them fall through the cracks”.
A government spokesperson said: “Halving knife crime in a decade is a clear mission this government has set out.
“It is vital to protect vulnerable young people who are too often the victims or perpetrators of this crime.”
*names have been changed
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