Tredegar terror convict jailed after beheading threats

Nathan Saunders shouted "Allahu akbar" - which means God is greatest - at a group of teenagers

A convicted terror offender has been jailed for 16 months after threatening teenagers with a knife and telling them: "We cut people's heads off."

Nathan Saunders, 28, shouted "Allahu akbar" and made Islamic State salutes at the youths on 15 September 2021.

Saunders, of Tredegar, Blaenau Gwent, who was convicted of downloading terror documents in 2017, is believed to have radicalised himself online.

He admitted possession of an offensive weapon at Cardiff Crown Court.

The court heard Saunders was attacked on Sycamore Avenue in Tredegar by a group of young men who punched him twice and called him a "terrorist".

After a neighbour intervened he got away, but returned with a bread knife.

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Witnesses said he began waving it and making slashing gestures towards the group.

Some of the young men armed themselves with house bricks and one began filming Saunders while others yelled at him to "put the knife down".

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said Saunders had been motivated by "some kind of revenge".

When he was arrested, he denied having a knife and said he was trying to reason with the youths.

Judge Lloyd-Clarke told him he should have reported the initial hostility and violence from the group to police.

"You chose to arm yourself with a large knife and you went out into the street to confront your former assailants when members of the public and young children were present," she said.

"Your offending, in my view, is seriously aggravated by your previous conviction. You seemed to be referring to that type of behaviour and interest when in possession of the knife.

"More than once you say 'we chop heads off,' and you point your finger up to the sky and repeatedly say 'Allahu akbar'."

Stephen Donoghue, prosecuting, applied for a criminal behaviour order, allowing police to monitor Saunders closely upon release.

He is already subject to a 10-year counter-terrorism order following his 2017 conviction, which related to downloading manuals on making bombs and carrying out "lone-wolf" attacks.

Mr Donoghue argued it did not go far enough to address concerns about any future offending.

Alex Greenwood, defending, said the order should be more specific to not interfere with Saunders' rights to privacy and his religious rights to freedom of expression.

A hearing to determine if the order will be granted will be held on 18 February.