Terrorism Convictions for Podcasters Who Spewed Islamophobic Hatred
Christopher Gibbons, 40, and Tyrone Patten-Walsh, 35, both from London, hosted an online show where they spewed Islamophobic, homophobic, racist, antisemitic and misogynistic hatred, and urged listeners to commit terrorist violence.
They praised Brenton Tarrant, the terrorist who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
Police discovered that Gibbons had also created an online library with hundreds of extreme right-wing videos and texts. Some of the material in the library and the podcast was deemed to be illegal under terrorism laws. They were arrested in May 2021.
They were both convicted of encouraging acts of terrorism after a trial at Kingston Crown Court that ended on July 7.
Commander Dominic Murphy, who leads the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “Gibbons and Patten-Walsh thought that the fact they were airing their hateful views and advocating terrorist acts in plain sight, on a radio and podcast platform, somehow gave them some legitimacy and meant they wouldn’t face any consequences.
“They were wrong, and both our investigation and a jury has found that they sought to encourage terrorism in how they expressed their abhorrent extreme right-wing views.
“During the course of the investigation, detectives reviewed hundreds of hours of material, and the result of their work was the compelling case that was presented at court which has resulted in their convictions.
“If you come across extremist content online, report it to police and we will act. Information from the public is vitally important in our fight against terrorism.”
The pair had produced 21 episodes of the podcast. Gibbons’ neo-Nazi online library had more than 500 videos and documents of extreme right-wing propaganda and speeches. It had nearly 1,000 subscribers, and the content had been viewed more than 152,000 times.
Officers from the Met’s specialist Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) analysed the videos and files and found that they violated terrorism legislation.
They also identified seven videos and a document that contained specific images, words or information that encouraged others to carry out terrorist acts.
Both men faced eight counts of encouraging acts of terrorism (contrary to section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006) – each count relates to a different podcast episode. Gibbons also faced two counts of dissemination of terrorist publications (contrary to section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006).
They were found guilty of all charges.
Gibbons and Patten-Walsh have been remanded in custody to be sentenced at Kingston Crown Court on September 26.
Source: 5pillarsuk.com
