UK Neo-Nazi Cell Inspired by Hitler’s SS Jailed for Plotting Attacks on Synagogues

Three far-right extremists who fashioned themselves after Adolf Hitler's dreaded SS have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 11 years for orchestrating a plot to assault synagogues and mosques across England, a chilling reminder of how online radicalization can fester into real-world threats against Jewish communities. Brogan Stewart, 25, from West Yorkshire; Christopher Ringrose, 35, from Staffordshire; and Marco Pitzettu, 26, from Derby, operated under the banner of Einsatz 14, a moniker deliberately evoking the Nazi regime's Einsatzgruppen death squads that orchestrated the Holocaust's mass murders during World War II. Formed in January 2024, the group drew in like-minded radicals eager to "go to war for their chosen cause," as prosecutors described it, blending neo-Nazi dogma with violent fantasies of a coming "race war."

Stewart positioned himself as the cell's "Führer," enforcing strict Nazi-inspired protocols that included donning black uniforms adorned with SS-style insignia and ranks. He appointed Ringrose and Pitzettu as "armourers," tasking them with amassing weaponry, and boasted to an undercover police officer posing as "Blackheart", whom he dubbed "Obergruppenführer", that the network mirrored the SS, with members poised as "soldiers waiting for orders" until the apocalyptic clash erupted. Undercover infiltration began in February 2024, just as the trio escalated from rhetoric to reconnaissance.

Encrypted Telegram chats revealed their depraved schemes: scouting an Islamic education center in Leeds as a prime target, plotting to abduct and torture an imam, and discussing ambushes on synagogues. They fantasized about "meeting migrants on the beaches" to "deal with them," even musing about executing then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a bid to ignite chaos. In a group call on February 5, two weeks before their arrests, Stewart outlined a brazen assault plan: "cruise around" hunting "human targets" near the Leeds center, then regroup at his home "for tea and medals and a debrief."

The plot unravelled on February 20, 2024, when counter-terrorism police raided homes in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire, convinced an attack was imminent. Officers seized a terrifying haul exceeding 200 items: machetes, hunting knives, swords, axes, crossbows, body armour, and a stun gun. Ringrose had 3D-printed nearly all components for a semi-automatic firearm, scouring online for the final pieces to assemble what prosecutors called a weapon of "devastating consequences." The suspects, who reportedly never met face-to-face until trial, were charged with preparing acts of terrorism and gathering intelligence useful to terrorists. Their nine-week trial at Sheffield Crown Court laid bare a worldview steeped in Hitler worship and glorification of mass shooters, where violence against Jews and Muslims was deemed not just justifiable but obligatory. Defense lawyers dismissed it as a "fantasy world," but the jury saw through the excuses, convicting all three on Friday after evidence of stockpiling and site visits proved intent to strike.

Justice Joanna Cutts delivered the sentences that same day, handing Stewart 11 years, Ringrose 10 years, and Pitzettu 8 years, totaling 29 years behind bars. She declared each man still clung to their poisonous neo-Nazi creed, rejecting any notion of remorse. "They espoused vile racist views and advocated for bloodshed," said Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley of the arrests' significance. "Some of their defense was that it was all fantasy, but they took real steps to arm themselves and plan an attack on innocent citizens."

This case shows a broader surge in UK far-right extremism, with Jewish community leaders noting a 400% spike in antisemitic incidents since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, per Community Security Trust data. Einsatz 14's exposure highlights the vigilance of UK authorities, who disrupted what could have been a mass-casualty horror, yet it serves as a stark warning: in an era of encrypted apps and 3D printing, neo-Nazi cells can arm up swiftly, endangering synagogues from London to Leeds and beyond. For Britain's Jewish population, numbering over 270,000, these sentences offer cold comfort, a bulwark against shadows of the past that still lurk in digital darkness.