David Temkin successfully prosecutes terrorist case

September 7, 2018

David Temkin from Exchange Chambers has successfully prosecuted a Nazi-obsessed teenager who was found in possession of a DIY bomb-making manual.

Jack Coulson, 19, admitted possessing a document or record for terrorist purposes, namely The Big Book Of Mischief.

He was sentenced to four years and eight months in a Young Offenders’ Institution.

The Defendant, who has a previous conviction for making a pipe bomb, claimed that Adolf Hitler was his “hero”.  Leeds Crown Court heard how the 60-page manual, downloaded to the defendant’s mobile telephone, seeks to “demonstrate the techniques and methods used in a number of countries to make hazardous devices”.

Further interrogation of the Defendant’s telephone uncovered material relating to proscribed right-wing group National Action. Investigators found Nazi imagery, photographs of firearms and audio recordings of people screaming in the aftermath of gunshots. The Defendant had carried out research on Timothy McVeigh, the American terrorist who carried out the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing which led to the deaths of 168 people. The court was told that the Defendant continued to hold “an active interest in far-right political views and violence”. The Defendant had written a note saying, “They are not going to cure me of my views.”

Sentencing the Defendant, Judge Marson QC said: “Time and time again you were a given a chance in relation to the previous offence. Help was repeatedly given, but you continued to breach the order that was given to you. You are unable to address the very real problems which you have in relation to your right-wing views.”

Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson, Head of Investigations at Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said, “Jack Coulson was in possession of disturbing and potentially dangerous material, which indicated an extreme right wing mind set and an interest in home-made explosives.” He added, “This case highlights the dangers of material that is readily available on the internet – material that could be misused, or used for a terrorist purpose.”

David was instructed by the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the CPS.