Politics student promoted neo-Nazi group that called for a race war, court hears
A university student promoted a neo-Nazi group that called for a race war and described homosexuality as a disease, a court has heard.
Andrew Dymock, 23, is accused of joining the extremist groups, Sonnenkrieg Division and System Resistance Network (SRN) between 2017 and 2018.
The Old Bailey heard Mr Dymock used a website and a Twitter account to promote the groups that "preached zero-tolerance" to non-whites, Jewish and Muslim communities.
The defendant, from Bath in Somerset, is on trial on 15 charges, including 12 terrorism-related alleged offences.
Opening his trial, prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward said the case centred on a period in 2017 and 2018 when Mr Dymock was studying politics at Aberystwyth University in Wales.
He used online platforms to promote and raise money for SRN, which wanted to stir up a race war and described homosexuality as a "disease", jurors were told.
Ms Ledward said: "Its clarion call was for the expulsion of all minorities and a white revolution.
"Its online campaign, comprising virulently racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic propaganda, sought to stir up a race war against ethnic minorities and others that it perceived as 'race traitors'."
SRN was one of a small number of organisations which filled a "dubious gap" after the far-right group, National Action, was banned. SRN was itself outlawed in 2020.
Ms Ledward said: "Before its proscription, the prosecution case contends that Mr Dymock was not only an active member of SRN but also participated in its activities in significant and specific ways.
"It is the prosecution case that he set up and operated both a website and a Twitter account which he used to promote, encourage and advance the organisation and its aims."
Online articles included the titles "Join your local Nazis", "The truth about the Holocaust" and "Homosexuality, the eternal social menace", jurors were told.
Jurors heard how Mr Dymock was expelled from SRN in late February 2018.
An examination of Dymock's computer allegedly revealed longstanding extremist views dating back to when he was aged 17.
Examples included a Google translation of the words "Kill all of the Jews", the court heard.
In a text message to a girlfriend in 2018, Dymock allegedly said: "I just had a great dream where I went around the Wild West executing f****** with a .44 magnum revolver."
In addition, Mr Dymock had books, flags, clothes and badges with links to the extreme right wing in his bedroom at home and university, jurors were told
However, Ms Ledward told jurors Dymock was not being prosecuted for holding racist, anti-Semitic or homophobic beliefs, or for his "adherence to a neo-Nazi creed".
She said: "Rather, he is facing prosecution for his encouragement of terrorist activity, of violence, as a means to shape society in accordance with his beliefs, rather than through free speech and democracy."
She said Dymock would deny being behind the online accounts and would say he was "set up" by others.
He denies five charges of encouraging terrorism, two of funding terrorism, stirring up racial hatred and hatred based on sexual orientation, four counts of disseminating terrorist publications, possessing a terrorist document and possessing racially inflammatory material.
The trial continues.
