Luke Crompton, 30, admitted a charge of encouraging terrorism
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Greater Manchester Police
)
A man who admitted encouraging far-right terror attacks has walked free after a court heard that he was “functioning effectively as a 10-year-old”.
Luke Crompton, 30, posted material calling for the murder of black people, Muslims and Jews online, as well as the burning of mosques.
Manchester Crown Court heard that he used two accounts on the Russian VK social network that prominently displayed symbols of white supremacy.
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Crompton pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism, an offence punishable by up to 15 years in prison, but escaped a jail sentence on Tuesday.
Judge Patrick Field QC handed him a two-year community order and 30-week rehabilitation course after hearing that he had a low IQ, possible autism, and had been “influenced and exploited” online.
UK terror plots that were foiled by security services
Show all 14
UK terror plots that were foiled by security services
1/14 Oxford Street terror plot
Lewis Ludlow was jailed for life in March 2019 for planning a 'spectacular multi-victim attack' on Oxford Street in London. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last year to plotting an attack in the UK and funding Isis abroad
EPA
2/14 Rosie Cooper MP plot
Jack Renshaw admitted plotting to kill his local Labour MP with a machete in June 2018. Renshaw bought a 19in machete intending to use it to kill Rosie Cooper, MP for West Lancashire. His plan was foiled by whistleblower Robbie Mullen, who heard of the plot in a meeting of alleged and convicted National Action members in the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington
Hope Not Hate
3/14 'Poppy terror plot'
Nadir Ali Sayed, his cousin Yousaf Shah Syed, and Haseeb Hamayoon, were charged with terrorism offences over an alleged plot to behead a member of public.
The trio were arrested in London and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 6 November - three days before Remembrance Sunday in 2014
PA
4/14 National Action arrests
Following the arrest of six men in 2018 on suspicion that they were members of the banned far-right terror group National Action, two were jailed. Christopher Lythgoe was found to be leader of the banned group and jailed for eight years, while Matthew Hankinson was jailed for six years. While it was found that Lythgoe did not encourage Jack Renshaw's plot to kill a Labour MP, the judge noted that he "did nothing to stop or discourage" the attack
PA
5/14 Shane Fletcher
A self-described 'loner', Fletcher planned to kill members of the public at a football match in his home town of Workington. He had been referred to the government's Prevent programme nine moths prior to his arrest after stating that he dreamed about "shooting up a mosque"
PA
6/14 Heathrow airport arrests
A 19-year-old from Coventry man was arrested at London's Heathrow airport on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism in November 2014
7/14 Extradition of Abu Hamza
Radical muslim cleric Abu Hamza was extradited to the US in 2014 after having been jailed in the UK for 7 years for 11 offences under the Terrorism Act
Getty
8/14 South East Counter Terrorism Unit arrests
Six people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a series of dawn raids in the south of England in October 2014. Three men and three women were detained separately in two properties in Portsmouth, one in Farnborough and one in Greenwich following an operation by the South East Counter Terrorism Unit. Counter-terror officers said they had disrupted what was believed to be the early stages of what could have turned into a “significant plot”
PA
9/14 October 2014 arrests
Three men were arrested in central London on 13 October as part of an investigation into Islamist-related terrorism. The arrests come nearly a week after five men were arrested in dawn raids that Whitehall officials said “may have foiled the early stages” of a plan to attack the UK
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty
10/14 Anjem Choudary arrest
Anjem Choudary, the radical activist and co-founder of the banned al-Muhajiroun group, was arrested in September 2014 as efforts intensify to disrupt the ideological backers of young British Muslims travelling to fight in foreign conflicts. Mr Choudary was among nine men held on suspicion of supporting a banned terrorist group and encouraging terrorism. The arrests came shortly after Mr Choudary fired off a series of angry tweets after David Cameron called on MPs to back air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria
Oli Scarff/Getty
11/14 North West Counter Terrorism Unit funds seizing
Police seize £250,000 of cash intended to fund Isis at Manchester Airport and north-west ports. Using powers under the Terrorism Act, the money was confiscated by officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit in Ocotber 2014
Getty
12/14 Tarik Hassane arrest
A medical student who was offered a place at a London university has been named among four men who are being questioned by counter-terror police after a series of raids across the capital. Tarik Hassane, 21, is believed to have been Tasered when he was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a "significant" Islamist terror plot on 7 October 2015
13/14 Abu Qatada removed from UK
Radical preacher Abu Qatada will not be returning to the UK after being cleared of terror charges in Jordan in 2013
Reuters
14/14 Haider Ahmed knife plot
Teenage Isis supporter Haider Ahmed purchased a 15ins hunting knife and threatened to launch a stabbing attack on the Tube. Prosecutors said he may alternatively have been planning to rob someone with the weapon to fund his travel to fight for Isis in Syria
He was jailed for preparing an act of terrorism in June 2019
Counter Terrorism Policing South East
1/14 Oxford Street terror plot
Lewis Ludlow was jailed for life in March 2019 for planning a 'spectacular multi-victim attack' on Oxford Street in London. He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last year to plotting an attack in the UK and funding Isis abroad
EPA
2/14 Rosie Cooper MP plot
Jack Renshaw admitted plotting to kill his local Labour MP with a machete in June 2018. Renshaw bought a 19in machete intending to use it to kill Rosie Cooper, MP for West Lancashire. His plan was foiled by whistleblower Robbie Mullen, who heard of the plot in a meeting of alleged and convicted National Action members in the Friar Penketh pub in Warrington
Hope Not Hate
3/14 'Poppy terror plot'
Nadir Ali Sayed, his cousin Yousaf Shah Syed, and Haseeb Hamayoon, were charged with terrorism offences over an alleged plot to behead a member of public.
The trio were arrested in London and High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire on 6 November - three days before Remembrance Sunday in 2014
PA
4/14 National Action arrests
Following the arrest of six men in 2018 on suspicion that they were members of the banned far-right terror group National Action, two were jailed. Christopher Lythgoe was found to be leader of the banned group and jailed for eight years, while Matthew Hankinson was jailed for six years. While it was found that Lythgoe did not encourage Jack Renshaw's plot to kill a Labour MP, the judge noted that he "did nothing to stop or discourage" the attack
PA
5/14 Shane Fletcher
A self-described 'loner', Fletcher planned to kill members of the public at a football match in his home town of Workington. He had been referred to the government's Prevent programme nine moths prior to his arrest after stating that he dreamed about "shooting up a mosque"
PA
6/14 Heathrow airport arrests
A 19-year-old from Coventry man was arrested at London's Heathrow airport on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism in November 2014
7/14 Extradition of Abu Hamza
Radical muslim cleric Abu Hamza was extradited to the US in 2014 after having been jailed in the UK for 7 years for 11 offences under the Terrorism Act
Getty
8/14 South East Counter Terrorism Unit arrests
Six people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a series of dawn raids in the south of England in October 2014. Three men and three women were detained separately in two properties in Portsmouth, one in Farnborough and one in Greenwich following an operation by the South East Counter Terrorism Unit. Counter-terror officers said they had disrupted what was believed to be the early stages of what could have turned into a “significant plot”
PA
9/14 October 2014 arrests
Three men were arrested in central London on 13 October as part of an investigation into Islamist-related terrorism. The arrests come nearly a week after five men were arrested in dawn raids that Whitehall officials said “may have foiled the early stages” of a plan to attack the UK
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty
10/14 Anjem Choudary arrest
Anjem Choudary, the radical activist and co-founder of the banned al-Muhajiroun group, was arrested in September 2014 as efforts intensify to disrupt the ideological backers of young British Muslims travelling to fight in foreign conflicts. Mr Choudary was among nine men held on suspicion of supporting a banned terrorist group and encouraging terrorism. The arrests came shortly after Mr Choudary fired off a series of angry tweets after David Cameron called on MPs to back air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria
Oli Scarff/Getty
11/14 North West Counter Terrorism Unit funds seizing
Police seize £250,000 of cash intended to fund Isis at Manchester Airport and north-west ports. Using powers under the Terrorism Act, the money was confiscated by officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit in Ocotber 2014
Getty
12/14 Tarik Hassane arrest
A medical student who was offered a place at a London university has been named among four men who are being questioned by counter-terror police after a series of raids across the capital. Tarik Hassane, 21, is believed to have been Tasered when he was arrested on suspicion of being involved in a "significant" Islamist terror plot on 7 October 2015
13/14 Abu Qatada removed from UK
Radical preacher Abu Qatada will not be returning to the UK after being cleared of terror charges in Jordan in 2013
Reuters
14/14 Haider Ahmed knife plot
Teenage Isis supporter Haider Ahmed purchased a 15ins hunting knife and threatened to launch a stabbing attack on the Tube. Prosecutors said he may alternatively have been planning to rob someone with the weapon to fund his travel to fight for Isis in Syria
He was jailed for preparing an act of terrorism in June 2019
He told Crompton: “What you did was to post vile and hateful material on a Russian social media site over a period of about nine months in 2018.
“The individual posts were deeply offensive, dripping with hate and contempt for Jews, Muslims and black people.
“They included praise for those who believed in white supremacy and they, in part, encouraged terrorism against Jews, Muslims and black people, encouraged people to kill them, to attack their religions and to burn their religious buildings.”
But Judge Field said Crompton had been “influenced and exploited online by others who were considerably more sophisticated” than him.
He added: “I am advised, because of your vulnerability, you are liable to exploitation and radicalisation that might well occur in a prison environment, and this would reduce the prospect of rehabilitation and increase the risk you pose to others.”
Crompton, of Brindle Street in Tyldesley, pleaded guilty to recklessly encouraging terrorism by posting hundreds of messages that were “dripping with hate and contempt”.
Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, told the court: ”He posted extreme material — photographs, images and words — expressing hatred and contempt for, amongst others, homosexuals, Jews, Muslims and black people and those that consorted with them.
“Many of the posts called for and encourage extreme activity against such people, such as the destruction of the Jewish and Islamic faiths, the torching of mosques and the murder of black people, Muslims and Jews.”
Mr Bassano said that Crompton appears to have harboured or sympathised with white supremacist views, with his Facebook ”likes“ featuring numerous causes of white supremacy and viewing racist material on his phone.
Government announces new counter-terrorism measures
But he told the court that all the experts who spoke to Crompton agreed that there was an “obsessional quality” to what he was doing and that his limitations, including social isolation and inability to form friendships and relationships, were likely to have played a part in his actions.
David Bentley QC, defending, described the posts as ”hateful“, but said Crompton was “someone who is functioning effectively as a 10-year-old”.
He said the defendant was targeted on the Internet by people he believed had a genuine interest in him and was “adamant” he did not hold racist or homophobic views.
“He did not present as harbouring racist and offensive views and, in my opinion, would lack the intellect and sophistication to conceal them,” he added.
“He is plainly a vulnerable individual who was targeted online by unscrupulous individuals.”
Crompton, who was wearing a dark-coloured coat and jeans, left the courtroom with his father and mother, who sobbed in the public gallery as the judge said her son would not be jailed.
It is the latest in a series of terror cases involving vulnerable defendants who have been radicalised online.
The national coordinator for the Prevent counter-extremism programme recently warned that young and vulnerable people, including those with mental health issues, were being exploited.