A man who operated two websites that spread far-right propaganda and encouraged terrorism has been jailed.
Colin McNeil, 46, ran the online sites which featured racist documents, images and videos glorifying Hitler, the Nazis and prominent Neo-Nazis.
The websites also honoured men who committed racist mass killings, including Brenton Tarrant, who murdered 51 people in and around two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand in 2019.
McNeil, from Leeds, did not create the material but provided a platform for it to reach its audience, which included people who were inclined towards terrorism.
One of the people who took inspiration from the material on the websites was 18-year-old Payton Gendron, who went on to murder 10 people in a mass shooting at a grocery shop in Buffalo, USA, in 2022. Prosecution evidence was able to show his engagement with the websites through likes and comments on racist material hosted on them.
McNeil benefited financially from the websites, receiving donations from users, and also used the sites to express his own racist views.
Onne of the sites, which operated like a typical social media platform, had 5,716 members, with 255,960 photos and 6,499 videos uploaded.
The other site, set up for videos, hosted 12,345 members and contained 79,284 videos. This site also had an option to upgrade to a “pro” member for $50, which would allow the user to post ad-free videos, sell videos, and to livestream.
McNeil pleaded guilty to four offences of disseminating a terrorist publication at Sheffield Crown Court on April 11, 2024.
At the same court today, he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
The prosecution followed an investigation by Counter Terrorism Police North East.
Bethan David, Head of the CPS Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Colin McNeil allowed his websites to operate as propaganda platforms for far-right terrorist material.
“He profited from the sites in the form of donations from users, and it is clear that others were inspired by the hateful and racist material they were able to access online – including those from overseas.
“McNeil’s actions were quite deliberate; he knew full well that there was a risk that terrorism would be encouraged and yet he permitted access to such material anyway.
“The CPS will always seek to prosecute those who encourage terrorism when our legal test is met.”
