Racist Jailed for Attacks on Islamic Centres in Britain
A racist vandal has been jailed for attacking an Islamic Centre and helping a friend to plot a nationwide campaign of hate.
Tobias Ruth and John Roddy went on a six-month spree of paint spray attacks inspired by the neo-Fascist ideology of Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik.
They branded each other with hot irons to initiate themselves in Breivik's Order of the Knights Templar and then targeted mosques and Islamic prayer centres, including at least one in Plymouth.
The pair also sprayed the letters KT on 72 buildings, signs or cars around Torbay, prosecutors told the court.
The two youths sent poison pen style letters to Mosques or Islamic prayer centres in Plymouth and Brighton and were planning to send them to others all around Britain.
All their messages read: "Leave this town today or there will be hell to pay".
On arrest, Roddy's laptop was found to contain Breivik's Manifesto and the Al Qaeda training manual.
A sweet tin was found full of cut out words and letters from magazines which they were using in their threatening messages.
Ruth, 18, and Roddy, 20, were both troubled youngsters when they met on a bricklaying course and were drawn together by their fascination with racist ideology, the court heard.
Ruth was already being supervised as a young offender while Roddy was autistic, suffering from Asperger Syndrome.
Roddy, of Lymington Road, Torquay, and Ruth, of Morgan Avenue, Torquay, admitted conspiracy to cause criminal damage and to send malicious communications.
Roddy also admitted possessing terrorist information and Ruth admitted having a knuckleduster as an offensive weapon.
Judge Francis Gilbert QC jailed Ruth for a total of 33 months at Exeter Crown Court and Roddy for 23 months, suspended for two years, and ordered he receive supervision.
He told them: "At least one of the acts of criminal damage was motivated by racial hatred and that is a serious aggravating feature.
"The communications you sent were intended to cause the fear of racial violence and there was plainly a racial element to that offence."
Source: This Is Plymouth
They branded each other with hot irons to initiate themselves in Breivik's Order of the Knights Templar and then targeted mosques and Islamic prayer centres, including at least one in Plymouth.
The pair also sprayed the letters KT on 72 buildings, signs or cars around Torbay, prosecutors told the court.
The two youths sent poison pen style letters to Mosques or Islamic prayer centres in Plymouth and Brighton and were planning to send them to others all around Britain.
All their messages read: "Leave this town today or there will be hell to pay".
On arrest, Roddy's laptop was found to contain Breivik's Manifesto and the Al Qaeda training manual.
A sweet tin was found full of cut out words and letters from magazines which they were using in their threatening messages.
Ruth, 18, and Roddy, 20, were both troubled youngsters when they met on a bricklaying course and were drawn together by their fascination with racist ideology, the court heard.
Ruth was already being supervised as a young offender while Roddy was autistic, suffering from Asperger Syndrome.
Roddy, of Lymington Road, Torquay, and Ruth, of Morgan Avenue, Torquay, admitted conspiracy to cause criminal damage and to send malicious communications.
Roddy also admitted possessing terrorist information and Ruth admitted having a knuckleduster as an offensive weapon.
Judge Francis Gilbert QC jailed Ruth for a total of 33 months at Exeter Crown Court and Roddy for 23 months, suspended for two years, and ordered he receive supervision.
He told them: "At least one of the acts of criminal damage was motivated by racial hatred and that is a serious aggravating feature.
"The communications you sent were intended to cause the fear of racial violence and there was plainly a racial element to that offence."
Source: This Is Plymouth
