Far-right podcaster 'horrified' by violent posts

Mr Kearney, originally from Liverpool, is on trial at the Old Bailey

A far-right podcaster who distributed terrorist manifestos online has said he is "horrified" to have shared videos which encourage violence.

Kristofer Thomas Kearney, 38, shared a series of "incredibly violent posts" which urged attacks on minorities, the Old Bailey heard.

Mr Kearney, originally from Liverpool, claimed he does not encourage violence and anything that did was due to "recklessness" rather than intent.

The trial continues.

The former solider, who spent two years in the British Army's Parachute Regiment, has already pleaded guilty to two offences of disseminating terrorist publications.

This relates to Telegram posts on 23 January and 8 March 2021 which disseminated dozens of documents allegedly encouraging extreme right-wing terror attacks.

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These included the manifestos of Christchurch mosque killer Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik, who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011.

A judge sitting at the court will now decide whether these posts were "reckless" as to whether the effect of his conduct was to encourage terrorism or whether the evidence is consistent with an intent to encourage terrorism.

Prosecutor Naomi Parsons earlier took Mr Kearney through a series of "incredibly violent posts" and asked if it was an "accident" they had appeared on his channel.

'Recklessness'

They encouraged violence against black people, Jews and Muslims, the court heard.

Mr Kearney, who used the name Charlie Big Potatoes on Telegram, said: "No, it is recklessness on my part."

Ms Parsons said that a number of texts "seem to be advocating political violence" and that he must be "horrified" in having published them.

Mr Keaney insisted that he would not have circulated the material if he had known there was a risk of it promoting violence.

When asked by judge Richard Marks KC whether the texts left him feeling "horrified", he replied: "Yes, your honour."

But Ms Parsons submitted that Mr Kearney's channel included "propaganda with a particular purpose" and it had a "sheer volume of material that indicates violence".

He disputed this and said: "From day one, my face is on that channel. I know the law in the UK. You are asking for the police to come and be at the foot of your bed at 3am. I am not stupid."

The judge pointed out that Mr Kearney was not in the country at the time.

He responded: "Correct, but I am not going to put my face on something and break the law. I have been reckless."

The self-described British fascist was part of the right-wing group known as Patriotic Alternative, which main stated aim is for white British people "not to become minorities in our own home".

Before his arrest and extradition from Alicante in Spain last September, he regularly featured on right-wing podcasts Patriotic Talk and The Absolute State of Britain and founded the channel Fascist Fitness to hand out exercise and fitness tips.

He claimed some of the phrases used on the channel were a "rallying cry" to urge people to get involved in community groups rather than promoting violence.

Ged O'Connor, defending, told the court that Mr Kearney had reposted such a vast amount of material that he did not necessarily agree with it all.

The judge is set to make his decision on the charges this week, ahead of sentencing on 23 June.

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