Moment MI5 swoop in and arrest neo-Nazi, 21, making an attempt to purchase gun and 200 rounds of ammo for terror assault – as he’s discovered responsible

A neo-Nazi inspired by the murder of MP Jo Cox has been found guilty at the Old Bailey of planning a mass gun attack after being snared trying to purchase a gun by MI5 in an undercover sting. 

Alfie Coleman, 21, of Great Notley, Essex, was swooped on by armed police officers in September 2023 after trying to buy a firearm he planned to use in a terror attack.

He was today convicted of plotting such an attack, having previously admitted 12 offences including attempting to purchase prohibited gun and 200 rounds of compatible ammunition and possessing several terrorist manuals.

From the age of just 14, Coleman began to trawl the internet for extreme right wing material including a neo-Nazi text which he downloaded on his iPad.

The former part-time Tesco worker went on to compile a hate list of colleagues and customers he branded with racial slurs or as ‘race traitors’.

Coleman, described in court as ‘seething with hatred on the inside’ became obsessed with the extreme-right and collected an arsenal of weapons and Nazi memorabilia in his bedroom. 

He penned a ‘manifesto’ in a diary and identified potential targets, including the Lord Mayor of London and a mosque. Coleman also ‘idolised’ far-right figures including Thomas Mair, who murdered MP Jo Cox in 2016. 

He was caught after undercover officers from MI5 engaged with Coleman in encrypted chat as he sought to buy weapons.

Coleman’s head sank into his chest as he was found guilty and a woman believed to be his mother burst into tears in the public gallery.

He mouthed the words: ‘It will be okay’ as he was led to the cells.

Authorities first became concerned in the summer of 2023 when Coleman became increasingly active on online extreme right wing groups.

In early September 2023, he arranged to buy a Skorpion automatic weapon, an AK47 rifle and bullets in France, having identified a local mosque as his target – but quickly abandoned the plan.

Coleman believed the dealer he was talking to on Telegram was a Serbian arms dealer in Reims, but he ultimately abandoned the plan.

He later set up a second deal to purchase a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition in Stratford while talking to an undercover officer.

Coleman told the officer that a race war was possible ‘with lots of sacrifice, lots of blood, lots of death, lots of pain, rivers of blood.’

Instead, MI5’s ‘highly sophisticated operation’ culminated in a Morrisons car park in Stratford, east London, on the morning of September 29, 2023.

That day Coleman, then aged 19, had arranged with an undercover officer to buy a Makarov pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.

Jurors saw dramatic video of Coleman dropping £3,500 in a Land Rover Discovery and picking up a holdall containing the handgun and ammunition from the boot.

Before he had gone 30 yards, Coleman, who was carrying his Tesco employee card, was confronted by armed counter-terrorism police and forced to the ground.

A search of the home he shared with his parents and sibling revealed the extent of Coleman’s murderous ideology, including idolising Thomas Mair, the extremist who killed MP Jo Cox.

Police found £2,500 in savings and a device to detect bugs and secret cameras in his bedside drawer; a rock with a Swastika on a table; a Black Sun flag associated with neo-Nazism on the wall; and various extreme right wing books.

Police also seized a collection of knives from his bedside drawer and on top of his chest of drawers, a small stone axe, an air rifle and a flyer about target shooting.

An analysis of his electronic devices revealed that in July 2021, Coleman had emailed the far-right white supremacist organisation Patriotic Alternative saying he ‘would like to start participating in activism’.

Shortly before his 17th birthday, Coleman began looking up knives, mortars and firearms and in May 2021, he downloaded his first illegal document. 

He went on to write down plans for potential terrorist attacks such as hijacking a plane and targeting the home of the Lord Mayor of London.

They involved putting explosives in a cash machine as well as the use of knives and crossbows, the court was told.

He was ‘seething with hatred’ as he created an list of people at work who had ‘upset’ him in September 2022, prosecutor Nicholas De La Poer KC had said.

Among those he singled out was a white female co-worker who was married to a man of mixed Indian and Seychellois heritage.

Coleman said he was ‘captivated’ by an extreme right wing book which commemorated public hangings of ‘white race traitors’.

The defendant’s ‘manifesto’ drew inspiration from several extremist mass killers who he regarded as ‘warriors’.

Six days before his arrest, Coleman posted a picture of a man armed with an automatic gun and wearing a balaclava, and commented: ‘Coming soon here my man.’

Two days before he was due to pick up the Makarov in Stratford, he wrote: ‘Just something has gotta be done, how long can we sit here and talk over the internet.’

The same day, Coleman ordered a Gerber Strong Arm knife with a 4.8 inch blade online.

Giving evidence, Coleman described being lonely and suffering with his mental health during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

He had admitted attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but denied he was preparing for a terrorist attack.

He had pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents with information likely to be useful to terrorists such as texts on weaponry and bomb-making instructions.

Coleman was convicted today after a retrial. He was remanded into custody to be sentenced on July 8.

Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan, head of operations for the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said ‘The verdict shows the success of counter terrorism policing and MI5 working together and that’s what we do day in day out.

‘Alfie Coleman is a really dangerous individual, and through our work, we were able to thwart any attack and manage that risk to the public.

‘Securing the evidence of Coleman physically exchanging the money for firearms provided the prosecution team with the evidence that shows Coleman was fully prepared and committed to carry out an attack way beyond simply typing out ideas of fantasy on his computer.

‘The fact he’s seeking out automatic weapons shows that his intention wasn’t to identify one individual and attack one individual.

‘Clearly he had grievance towards specific individuals but his intention seemed to be more towards a mass attack and planning that and creating that sort of race war. That was his mindset.’

Ms Flanagan said Coleman’s was an ‘acute’ example of a growing trend of children becoming radicalised online and drawn into terrorism.

‘Sadly in this case, it’s ultimately led to him developing a plan and desire to go out and kill innocent people,’ she said.

‘Whilst this is rare and shocking, unfortunately we’re starting to see this more and more in our casework, so this is not unique.’

She added that it was ‘vital’ parents take an interest in what their children are doing online and if necessary initiate ‘difficult conversations’.

Bethan David, Head of Counter Terrorism for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Today, a dangerous man who planned to commit a terrorist attack to further his extreme racist and white supremacist agenda, has been convicted.

‘Alfie Coleman took extraordinary measures to plan out his attack in detail and was intent on doing so.

‘He was motivated by an extreme ideology and hatred of people of other races and religions, he was clearly intent on acting on these ideas and causing harm.

‘Today’s guilty verdict, along with his earlier guilty pleas, show that he not only held extreme right-wing beliefs but wanted to act on them to cause pain and suffering. This was fortunately prevented and the public protected due to the work of the policing and prosecution team.’