Far-right extremist who hosted terror websites viewed by Buffalo gunman jailed

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A far-right extremist who hosted terror websites viewed by Buffalo gunman Payton Gendron has been jailed for seven years.

Colin McNeil, from Leeds, was given an extended sentence over the two websites that spread far-right propaganda, glorified Hitler and encouraged terrorism.

The 46-year-old was told he will spend seven years in custody and four years on extended licence after pleading guilty at Sheffield Crown Court to four offences of disseminating a terrorist publication.

He will also be subject to a terrorist notification order for 30 years.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the websites hosted by McNeil honoured men who committed racist mass killings, including Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people in and around two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

He did not create the material but provided a platform for it to reach its audience, which included people who were inclined towards terrorism, police said.

Among the users of the website was Gendron, 18, who went on to murder 10 people in a mass shooting at a grocery shop in Buffalo in the US in 2022.

The CPS said evidence was able to show his engagement with the websites through likes and comments on racist material hosted on them.

Counter Terrorism Policing North East said the website was “deliberately, and very publicly, unmoderated”, with McNeil admitting in a police interview that he knew the site had been “swamped” by material supporting extreme right-wing ideologies.

McNeil benefited financially from the websites, receiving donations from users, and also used the sites to express his own racist views.

One of the sites, which operated like a typical social media platform, had 5,716 members, with 255,960 photos and 6,499 videos uploaded.

The other site, set up for videos, hosted 12,345 members and contained 79,284 videos.

This site also had an option to upgrade to a “pro” member for 50 US dollars (£39), which would allow the user to post ad-free videos, sell videos, and to livestream.

Bethan David, head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Colin McNeil allowed his websites to operate as propaganda platforms for far-right terrorist material.

“He profited from the sites in the form of donations from users, and it is clear that others were inspired by the hateful and racist material they were able to access online – including those from overseas.

“McNeil’s actions were quite deliberate; he knew full well that there was a risk that terrorism would be encouraged and yet he permitted access to such material anyway.”

McNeil was arrested in March 2022 following an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing North East.