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Neo-Nazi teenager convicted of Brighton synagogue suicide bomb plot
‘Violent antisemite’ Mason Reynolds had diagrams of a Brighton shul on his phone
May 1, 2024 13:08
‘Violent antisemite’ Mason Reynolds had diagrams of a Brighton shul on his phone
May 1, 2024 13:08A teenager has been convicted of attempting to attack a Brighton synagogue on a Jewish holiday.
Mason Reynolds, 19, who was described in court as a “violent antisemite”, planned to undertake a suicide bombing at Holland Road shul.
The sixth-form student had annotated diagrams of the synagogue on his phone with one entrance identified that would be ‘‘good for surprise attack”.
He wrote that he wished to, "blow myself up inside a synagogue”.
Reynolds, who lived with his parents, also ran a channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram in which users praised “Nazi heroes” and discussed previous far right terror attacks.
After he was arrested in 2023 police discovered a “vast amount” of antisemitic material of antisemitic material on his phone and laptop.
He was a member of a Telegram channel that featured far right “propaganda” and designs for 3D printed guns, the court heard.
In the notes app on his phone, police found a plan to attack the Holland Road synagogue, which at the time was used by Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation before their move to a new location.
In his memo, Reynolds had designs of the synagogue featuring entrances, exits and a camera.
Text alongside read: "The Jewish holidays that tend to have the most people in synagogues are Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover.”
An annotation to his diagrams claimed: "Unknown place it leads to could blow the whole plan but could be good for surprise attack.”
Reynolds was also in possession of a video captioned, “burn your local synagogue, join your local Nazis” and an image he made, which was captioned: “Make Jews afraid again.”
Prosecuting the case, lawyer Naomi Parsons said: “[Reynolds] lived with his mum and dad, who he got on well with… At the time, Mr Reynolds has admitted he was a neo-Nazi.
“Mr Reynolds does not find himself here because he has political, racial or ideological views that some may find distasteful or indeed abhorrent.
"He’s here because he has been charged with a terrorism-related offence, and what that means, in practice, is that he’s not just held those political, racial and ideological views – he’s acted on them.”
Reynolds was found guilty of possessing an article connected with the preparation of an act of terrorism.
He previously pleaded guilty to five offences of possessing information which may be useful to a terrorist and five offences of disseminating terrorist publications. He will be sentanced on June 14.
The Community Security Trust said it welcomed the verdict and thanked Brighton’s Jewish community for their “resiliance and cooperation” during the case.
"As ever, this case demonstrates the diverse range of threats our community faces and demonstrates the reason why the Jewish community needs such extensive security at our communal buildings,” they said in a statement.
"We all have a role in keeping our community safe.”
The Sussex Jewish Representative Council previously told the JC: “This is a stark reminder of the ongoing threat the Jewish community faces from those fomenting antisemitic views.
"We would encourage people to be mindful of their language and the way they put their views forward in public and on social media.
“The small Jewish community of Brighton and Hove should feel safe to practice and demonstrate our faith without the threat of terrorism, violence or hostility.”
“Mason Reynolds sought to spread hate and encourage acts of terrorism,” said Nick Price, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism and Special Crime Division.
"He not only held neo-Nazi beliefs but wanted to act on them to cause pain and suffering, which fortunately has been prevented and the public protected due to the work of the policing and prosecution team.”