Port Talbot: Ex-RAF cadet painted mural with Nazi graffiti
- Published
The artwork was part of celebrations of the town's Caribbean community
A former RAF cadet daubed a Windrush mural with Nazi symbols and fantasised about killing a schoolmate, a court has heard.
The boy, 17, from south Wales, admitted a string of terror offences and criminal damage in court on Friday.
The Old Bailey was told the teen - who cannot be named - painted graffiti over the Port Talbot mural twice during 2022.
The vandalism appeared within hours of it being completed.
The graffiti included swastikas, the words "Nazi zone", white supremacist symbol "1488", and a racial slur.
The mural, which celebrates the Caribbean community, depicts Donna Campbell, a nurse and daughter of the Windrush generation who died during the pandemic, and her mother Lydia.
The court heard how the youth, who has been diagnosed as autistic, was referred to the Prevent de-radicalisation programme last spring by the air cadets.
He was expelled from the group last September, after he sent images to other cadets of himself with a Swastika painted on his chest.
He was also banned from Instagram for posting racist and Nazi images.
After vandalising the mural the teenager bragged about his actions on messaging app Telegram, writing: "Check my art out."
He also was involved in setting off a smoke bomb at Cardiff's Queer Emporium on 31 October last year, the court heard.
Lucy Jones, prosecuting, outlined how the defendant's extreme right-wing ideology was exposed after his arrest on 8 November last year.
Volunteers quickly restored the mural after racist graffiti was daubed on it
She said police found knives, an air rifle, and anti-Semitic literature in his bedroom.
Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf, bought for him by his mother, contained the boy's handwritten notes.
Other items from his bedroom included gas masks and flags bearing a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) symbol and a swastika.
The teen's electronic devices were also seized and the court was shown homemade videos and images in which he made Nazi salutes and shared far right views.
In one video, he talked about "white power" while wearing a swastika pendant.
In others, the boy posed with an air gun and called himself the "KKK" and "Hitler's strongest soldier".
The court heard he once fired the gun through his bedroom skylight.
His internet search history revealed a fascination with far-right mass killers and an interest in extreme groups.
Ms Jones said: "There appears to be an unhealthy interest in school shootings and videos showing live coverage of these shootings."
The defendant's diary outlined a desire for "race war", the court was told.
A 17-year-old boy charged with terror offences appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday
Ms Jones said: "He is an isolated and angry youth who spends a considerable amount of time reading extreme right-wing, white supremacist literature and he had violent fantasies."
Among the entries was a hate-filled rant about an Asian schoolmate who be believed "grassed" on him.
He wrote: "I would be doing the world a favour if I just killed him."
A list of life goals included "burn a building down, maybe bomb it", "kill someone", "join a Nazi militia", "get a gun or make one" and "get buff as hell".
Ms Jones said messages on his phone showed his intention to build a gun.
He pleaded guilty to eight charges in June - two of possessing a terrorist document, three of distributing a terrorist document and three charges of criminal damage.
One document the teen shared with another teenager detailed bomb making, derailing trains, attacking power lines, kidnapping police officers and glorifying mass murderers.
He possessed and disseminated another manual with step-by-step gun-making instructions.
David Elias KC, defending. said the teen's parents were in court and supporting him.
"They did not know what he was doing and when they found out they were, as anyone who has seen those videos and messages, absolutely appalled," Mr Elias said.
He added that the boy's gas mask collection should be seen in context with his World War Two fascination.
The teenager was granted unconditional bail until he is sentenced on 21 September.
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