Oliver Lewin: Man planned terror attacks on radio masts, court hears

A man plotted terror attacks against radio masts and the M1 motorway in an attempt to bring down the UK government, a court has heard.

Oliver Lewin was arrested in August 2021 after speaking to undercover officers on the Telegram messenger app.

Prosecutors said he carried out "reconnaissance" on targets and tried to recruit others to his cause.

The 38-year-old, from Coalville, Leicestershire, denies one count of preparing terrorist acts.

At the opening of his trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Annabel Darlow for the prosecution, said by July 2021 Mr Lewin had become "deeply opposed" to the government and stated his "goal" was to "topple" it.

"He believed [the government] was dominated by a Jewish elite who took orders from Israel," she said.

"At the same time, he saw the spread of coronavirus across the world as triggering the emergence of a Chinese communist system."

The court heard Mr Lewin was also "deeply suspicious" of the Covid-19 vaccine programme and was on a "war footing".

Ms Darlow KC said Mr Lewin's targets were communication systems and transport infrastructure, including the road network in "widespread, co-ordinated attacks".

"To attack one communications mast would have some impact. To attack multiple masts at the same time would strike a far more deadly and effective blow," the prosecutor said.

One of his plans, the prosecution alleges, was to damage a water culvert under the M1 motorway near his home and to strike radio transmitters in the Leicestershire area along with another near Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands.

Mr Lewin engaged in reconnaissance of targets to attack, purchasing equipment and tools, digging a hideout to evade capture and seeking to recruit other people to commit or assist in acts of terrorism, the court was told.

The prosecution said Mr Lewin joined a group on the encrypted messaging app Telegram called "The Resistance UK" with about 8,000 members.

The court was told Mr Lewin, who used the alias "Crouching Hedgehog", wanted to create a "national network" for those who shared his ideology.

"He had a long-term ambition, of using that network to carry out nationwide, co-ordinated attacks," Ms Darlow KC said.

The prosecutor said the defendant spent time writing an online manual to train others.

In a post gathered by undercover officers, Mr Lewin said: "We are at war people, make no mistake.

"You have to choose a better strategy - I have one I think will work which involves staying out in the wild with a risk of being caught."

Two undercover officers began speaking to Mr Lewin on the app and the prosecution said the defendant falsely claimed he was ex-military but in reality, had worked as an engineer on radio masts.

The court heard on 10 August 2021, Mr Lewin went to the Copt Oak mast near Coalville and took a number of images.

The following week, the jury was told Mr Lewin began digging a hideout in woods close to his home in order to "escape detection".

The prosecution said the defendant visited a communications mast close to Bardon Hill in Leicestershire on the night on 19 August.

He also visited an underpass on the M1 near his home and took images of the culvert that runs underneath.

The court was told Mr Lewin amassed a "large amount of military-style equipment and tools" including wire strippers and shears.

The jury heard police units had placed surveillance on Mr Lewin's reconnaissance trips.

"His activities began to accelerate and he repeatedly expressed the aim of carrying out action in September of 2021. The police moved in," Ms Darlow KC said.

In the early hours of 25 August, police arrested Mr Lewin at the home he shared with his mother and stepfather in Coalville.

His partially-completed manual was discovered on a laptop.

The prosecution said Mr Lewin had written of the need to carry out "significant damage to the country".

"He set out his aims to commit regular attacks on vital infrastructure, writing 'my ideal primary objective would be to topple the government and install a civilian-led alternative'," said Ms Darlow KC.

Following his arrest, he told officers he was a "fantasist" and did not intend to carry out the attacks.

Mr Lewin, of Ferrers Road, Coalville, denies one count of preparing terrorist acts.

The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.

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