Nazi sympathiser facing jail after conviction for downloading terror manuals
Police found so much extreme material at the home of Nicholas Brock, including Hitler's screed Mein Kampf, it was like “an undergraduate degree” in the far right
A Nazi sympathiser is facing jail after being convicted of deliberately downloading a stash of far-right terrorism manuals.
When police raided the home of Nicholas Brock, 53, in Maidenhead in January 2018, they found so much extreme material it was like “an undergraduate degree” in the far right, the trial heard.
His collection included a copy of Mein Kampf, The Klansman by William Bradford Huie and White Riot: The Violent Story Of Combat 18.
He also had a framed “certificate of recognition” from the Ku Klux Klan, a DVD called SS Experiment Camp, a collection of Nazi-era daggers and a racist book about owning a black slave.
But he faced prosecution for the possession of just three banned documents – Anarchy Cookbook 2000, Knife Fighting Techniques From Folsom Prison, and Kill Or Get Killed.
The banned material was found in a folder labelled “military files” on a hard drive.
They gave instructions on how to make a series of explosive substances and devices, and how to kill quickly and efficiently with a blade.
Brock denied wrongdoing, telling police he was just “a normal person who likes collecting stuff”.
He claimed that the files could already have been on the hard drive, which he bought second-hand from a car boot sale in 2015.
But analysis of the device showed the items had not been downloaded until 2017.
Brock said he was a “military collector” who had an interest in weapons and ammunition stemming from his love of Action Man figures as a child.
He also told investigators he had “no interest” in far-right groups, as he “didn’t go out much” due to his social anxieties.
Brock did not give evidence during his trial at Kingston Crown Court.
On Tuesday a jury convicted him of three counts of possession of materials likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.
He was convicted on the final count, that of possession of Kill Or Get Killed, by a majority verdict of 11 to one.
Emma Gargitter, prosecuting, told the court Brock had an “interest in Nazis, neo-Nazis and ideas of the far-right”.
Other files found on his hard drive included the video of the Christchurch mosque attack filmed by the killer and a beheading video.
Brock had pictures of him wearing a balaclava over his face and holding what “appeared to be a firearm”, and another of him in a MAGA hat.
A promotional video from a neo-Nazi group was also found in Brock’s files, during which a man in a balaclava says: “War is coming.”
Brock has a tattoo on his shoulder depicting the group’s mark, the jury were told.
Edward Butler, defending, told the jury: “Some of the material we have viewed and the allegations against Mr Brock are unpleasant and appalling.
“You may well think that this is not the kind of man you’d want to go for a pint with, or that he spends far too much time on his computer.
“But this is not enough evidence to suggest that Mr Brock is a terrorist, or in any way does it prove that he was going to commit a terror attack, and that’s what you have to consider.”
Brock will be sentenced on May 25.
The Recorder of Richmond, Judge Peter Lodder QC, remanded him into custody ahead of that date.
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