Man who called Christchurch killer a 'hero' jailed

A man who hailed a white supremacist who killed 51 people at two mosques as a "hero" has been sentenced.

Edward Griffiths sent footage to people of the 2019 Christchurch terrorist attacks in New Zealand and said he would "like" to go on a killing spree.

The 44-year-old, of Hermitage Road in Whitwick, Leicestershire, was found guilty of encouraging terrorism and two counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication in May.

At Birmingham Crown Court he was jailed for four and a half years.

The court heard Griffiths had posted an image of the Christchurch attacker, Brenton Tarrant, as a Christian saint and called him a "hero".

He had also repeatedly expressed violent opinions about ethnic and immigrant communities on social media.

After committing the offences between November 2021 and June 2022, counter-terrorism officers arrested Griffiths during a raid of his home.

Judge Paul Farrer noted Griffiths was a "sad and lonely" man with a drugs problem at the time of the offences.

He said: "The material you disseminated and published glorified the murders committed by Brenton Tarrant and implied others should emulate that behaviour.

"There is no evidence anyone actually did so and I conclude therefore that your behaviour provided non-specific content encouraging support for terrorist activity endangering life."

He added: "[Your defence] has argued on your behalf the extreme views you expressed were motivated by a desire to fit in with others and do not represent your true beliefs.

"Having heard the evidence in this case, including your evidence, I reject that submission.

"You were undoubtedly a supporter of the extreme right-wing and that includes holding white supremacist views".

Griffiths was given a four and a half year term for encouraging terrorism, with two year sentences for both counts of dissemination of a terrorist publication to run concurrently.

Det Insp Glynn Jehu, from Counter Terrorism Policing – East Midlands, said: “51 people lost their lives in the Christchurch attacks.

"Spreading messages of extreme hate and violence in the way that Griffiths did is dangerous, reckless and could easily have encouraged others to commit an act of terrorism."

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