Three neo-Nazis who plotted terror attacks on mosques and synagogues believing a race war was imminent have been jailed.

Christopher Ringrose, 34, Marco Pitzettu, 25, and Brogan Stewart, 25, claimed they were merely fantasists and were not being serious when they gushed over Adolf Hitler, glorified mass murderers and discussed potential targets.

But the trio had amassed more than 200 knives and swords, as well as body armour and a stun gun.

Ringrose had also 3D-printed most of the components of a semi-automatic firearm at the time of his arrest, which prosecutors said could have been used to ‘devastating consequences’.

Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East said: ‘We saw this building of a firearm, and we saw them then changing their conversation and an uptick in their hatred and looking to identify a real-world target, which could have been talk of a synagogue, an Islamic institution, a mosque, education…

‘When we saw that uptick changing, and they were looking to come out into the real world, that’s when we took the action to arrest them.’

Mr Dunkerley said: ‘That was a tipping point for us. The protection of the public was absolutely paramount, and this wasn’t some fantasy.’

Ringrose, Pitzettu and Stewart were each found guilty of a charge of preparing acts of terrorism and charges of collecting information likely to be useful to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism following a nine-week trial.

Ringrose was jailed for 10 years, Pitzettu was given an eight years sentence and Stewart was locked up for 11 years today.

The trio, who are not believed to have met in the real world before they appeared together in the dock.

They were arrested when security services believed an attack was imminent after undercover officers infiltrated their online group, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Opening the trial in March, Jonathan Sandiford KC, prosecuting, said: ‘These three defendants were right-wing extremists who regarded themselves as National Socialists, or Nazis, and they supported the National Socialist movement in the UK, such as it is or indeed was.’

He said the defendants followed a cause which embraced an admiration for Adolf Hitler, white supremacy, a ‘hatred towards black and other non-white races’, and glorification and admiration for mass killers who have targeted the black and Muslim community.

He told the jury of seven men and five women that the trio all held a ‘belief that there must soon be a race war between the white and other races’.

The prosecutor told the jury that the defendants formed a group called Einsatz 14 in January 2024, with ‘like-minded extremists’ who wanted to ‘go to war for their chosen cause’.

He said Stewart told the group: ‘Hitler did more for his people than any politician. And for Britain to have a p*** and zionist in charge of the country is absolutely outrageous.’

Mr Sandiford said this last comment was a reference to the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

The jury was also shown a short video Stewart posted of himself wearing a German army helmet, a Nazi armband and a skull face covering.

Mr Sandiford explained how Stewart discussed torturing a Muslim leader using his ‘information extraction kit’ with an undercover officer.

He explained how Stewart set up a group called Einsatz 14 with him as ‘Fuhrer’ and an undercover officer called Blackheart as the ‘Obergruppenfuhrer’, which the other two defendants also joined.

He said that when Blackheart asked him about the group’s ideology, Stewart replied: ‘Personally, I’ve taken inspiration from the SS’, and added: ‘I also hope that we can extort political rivals and potentially plan operations to meet migrants landing on our beaches and deal with them.

‘As the race war comes to unfold I’d expect members to stand by, wait for orders and deploy to combat our…’

The prosecutor told the court that Stewart developed a mission statement for the group which said its ‘basic duties’ included to ‘target mosques, Islamic education centres and other similar locations’.

Mr Sandiford told the jury the group discussed potential targets at the end of January 2024.

He told the court Stewart sent Blackheart details of the Islamic Education Centre on Mexborough Road in Leeds, including a Google Maps image.

The officer asked Stewart for more detailed information about the plan, and he replied that they could smash windows or ambush someone, the court heard.

According to Mr Sandiford, Stewart said: ‘It depends how far we are willing to go. It could be a beating with batons and bats or something more serious.’

After the verdicts, Mr Dunkerley said: ‘These individuals have come together in an online space, and what brought them together was extreme racial prejudice.

‘They held extreme racist views. They idolised the Nazi Party.

‘There was adoration for mass murderers, and they held really extreme views against people who didn’t look like them.

‘Those views were amplified in that online space, encouraged between them, and they looked then to start what I think was prepping for a real-world attack.’

Mr Dunkerley said: ‘I think, had we not taken steps to arrest them, that we would have seen something play out in the real-world that could have had fatal consequences.’

The officer said: ‘It was very much our firm view that this was more than just talk.’

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Jihad Al-Shamie tried to get inside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, on Thursday.

The deputy PM was booed and told ‘shame on you’.

The news broke this morning.

Brock claimed to know people who could reactivate guns so he could use them to harm prison staff and others after he was released.

Get ready to hear a piercingly unpleasant noise today, as 87 million phones blare in unison.

Get ready to hear a piercingly unpleasant noise this Sunday at 3pm, as 87 million phones blare in unison.

Get ready to hear a piercingly unpleasant noise this Sunday at 3pm, as 87 million phones blare in unison.

El Shafee Elsheikh (left) and David Haines (left in second picture) with his brother (Picture: PA/Getty)

An ISIS terrorist, part of a beheading gang called ‘The Beatles’, has asked to move back to Britain to be closer to family…

New details have been released after a ruling by the information watchdog.

Haroon Aswat, 50, who was deported to the UK from the US in 2022, could be home in West Yorkshire next week.

He will be sentenced at a later date.

‘Like everyone else, I assumed I was invincible.’

Police have made a number of arrests in central London.

The massacre on the beach at Sousse was the biggest loss of British life to terrorism since the 7/7 bombings in London in July 2005. For Tunisians and the tourism they rely on, it was devastating.

A neo-nazi teenager who wrote that he wanted to carry out terrorist attacks and target ‘race traitors’ has said he was inspired by the murder of an MP (Picture: Getty Images)

A neo-nazi teenager who was caught by MI5 as he trie…

British Iranians reveal to Metro how efforts to recruit them are commonplace.

The group broke into an RAF base in Oxfordshire and vandalised two planes last week.

RAF Akrotiri is the UK’s most important airbase for operations in the Middle East.

He allegedly boasted about his new home.

A terrorist opened fire at a Tunisian beach with an automatic rifle ten years ago.

The jury rejected claims that their online comments were fantasies.

This is the moment a man is seen smiling on a zipline while 26 people are shot dead below him in a terror attack.

Footage shows the tourist being launched by the Zipline operator, who says ‘Allahu Akbar’ three times as a militant group opened fire on visitors at a popular tourist spot in Indian-controlled Kashmir last week.

But the tourist does not appear to be aware of what is going on and smiles and films the scenery around him as he takes off along the Zipline.

Additional gunfire can be heard in the background as people are seen falling to the ground after being struck by bullets while trying to flee.

The man filming does not appear to realise what is happening as later footage shows him crossing the area where the terror attack took place.

One witness said: ‘My husband was shot in the head while seven others were also injured in the attack.’

Tourist Asavari Jagdale revealed how a gunman came into the tent which her family were hiding in and shooting all of her male relatives.

Due to the area only being accessible by horseback, locals rushed to help with emergency efforts and transport the injured on ponies.

He said: ‘I saw people crying, screaming, just lying in the aftermath of the attack. There were children, women, men, everyone.

‘It was a massive trauma. I did not sleep all night.’

One witness said: ‘I cannot say how many, but the militants came out of the forest near an open small meadow and started firing.’

He added the gunfire was ‘like a storm’ and the gunmen ‘very clearly spared women and kept shooting at men’.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

‘I screamed, grabbed my children, and ran into the forest. My kids and I are still in shock. We can’t understand what happened to us.

Police have described the incident as a ‘terror attack’ and blamed militants fighting against Indian rule.