A teenage extremist who inspired two far-right killers in the US has been ordered to serve 11 and a half years in a young offender institution for publishing a “stream of rightwing terrorist bile”.
Daniel Harris, 19, celebrated white supremacist murderers including Anders Breivik and called for an armed uprising in videos posted from his grandfather’s house in Derbyshire.
Manchester crown court was told that his material was viewed by two men who went on to commit separate far-right atrocities in the US last year.
One of Harris’s followers was Payton Gendron, 19, who killed 10 people in a racially motivated attack in Buffalo, New York, last May.
Sentencing Harris on Friday, Judge Field KC described Harris as a “highly dangerous” individual who had inspired killers with his “vile and despicable” videos.
Field said there was evidence the teenager’s material had been viewed by Gendron and by Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, who is accused of killing five people and wounding 17 others in a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the US last November, while Harris’s trial was under way.
The judge said of the two US killers: “What they did was truly appalling, but what they did was no more than what you intended others to do by publishing this material online.”
Harris, who was born in London but lived with his grandfather in Glossop from a young age, was found guilty of five counts of encouraging terrorism and one count of possessing a 3D printer with which he tried to build a semi-automatic gun.
Field said the teenager’s videos were “sophisticated, well-made and slickly produced and were not obviously the product of a 17- or 18-year-old”.
One of Harris’s videos was a biographical documentary of Brenton Tarrant, the rightwing extremist who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March 2019. Harris referred to Tarrant as “the Australian saint”.
An unknown user commented: “This video has moved me. I was on the fence, now I am committed to my race.”
Gendron, the Buffalo killer, replied using a pseudonym: “You are not alone my friend.”
Other videos contained instructions on how to carry out atrocities like those committed by Breivik and Tarrant.
Field said Harris had produced a “stream of rightwing terrorist bile” over 14 months that continued even while the teenager was involved in the Channel de-radicalisation programme.
He said Harris told his Channel worker “a series of lies to put him and others off the scent” and was in fact producing a “video homage” to Thomas Mair, the rightwing murderer of the Labour MP Jo Cox, while claiming not to hold extreme views himself.
The judge added: “There was also the evidence that others have acted on or been assisted by your encouragement to carry out racist attacks. I have in mind the encouragement related to Payton Gendron before he carried out his shooting in Buffalo state, New York.
“This indicates that the videos you produced had had some influence on a young man, who I note was a similar age to you, who went out and shot 10 black people dead in Buffalo.”
Field ordered Harris to be detained for 11 and a half years in a young offender institution and to serve an additional three years on an extended licence restricting his activities after his release.
Harris showed no emotion as he was taken to the court cells.
DI Chris Brett, of east Midlands counter-terrorism police, said: “On the face of it, Harris presents as an unassuming, quiet young man, but scratch the surface and it’s a more sinister picture.” Harris’s videos were “a concerted effort to generate a following and influence people”.
Brett added: “As we have seen in this case against Daniel Harris, such irresponsible and hateful behaviour can have deadly consequences. Not only did he create and share offensive posts and videos, he tried (and failed) to make a gun. And while not all individuals have the means to act upon their words, in the online space, they can easily spread to inspire others who do.”
