How CST helped bring far-right extremists to justice

Two far-right British extremists have been brought to justice with the help of the Community security Trust after years-long investigations, it has been revealed.

Gareth Waite, a Wales-based neo-Nazi, was sentenced this week at Woolwich Crown Court to nine years in prison for a variety of terrorism-related offences. These included membership of a proscribed far-right organisation, National Action.

CST identified and reported Waite, 47, to counter-terrorism police in 2019 after he was seen sharing material from National Action, and also posting “extreme, antisemitic, racist, and often violent content. CST’s concerns led to a referral to our partners in UK counter-terrorism policing”.

The subsequent investigation into Waite was led by Counter Terrorism Policing Wales, who discovered further evidence demonstrating Waite’s far-right extremism and hateful ideology. This included material that led to two counts of Waite possessing a document containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

The second case relates to a 24-year-old man, Gabriel Budasz, from Weston-super-Mare. At Winchester Crown Court last week, Budasz was convicted of a number of terrorism-related offences. He had shared online videos relating to the making of explosives, and when police raided his home in August 2023, they found books, masks and memorabilia of an extreme right-wing nature, as well as a 3D-printed firearm.

Budasz was found guilty of one count of dissemination of a terrorist publication, four counts of encouraging terrorism and one count of sending an electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety. He will be sentenced on October 25.

In painstaking intelligence work, including the cross-matching of pictures to identify Budasz and where he was based — as he was posting anonymously online — CST determined who he was and that he lived in Weston-super-Mare.

In a detailed post on social media, CST described how it had first become aware of Budasz in September 2022, on the encrypted messaging platform, Telegram. “He was operating anonymously in extreme right-wing Telegram channels, as well as across other platforms. We quickly ascertained that he was UK-based and held deeply antisemitic views.

“This sparked an investigation lasting more than a year, during which CST became increasingly concerned about his posts and livestreams promoting violence against Jews and other ethnic minorities, alongside his right-wing extremism”.

All this material was shared with counter-terrorism police, and in August 2023 Budasz was arrested, leading to his conviction.

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE), said: “The [online] material contained his extreme right-wing views, encouraging violence to further the hateful ideology which he espoused.

“Making this kind of content available online spreads and encourages terrorist ideology, and is incredibly dangerous to those vulnerable to radicalisation.

“Unfortunately, the harm that can be caused by those who seek to provoke violence online to further their cause has been only too evident across the country in recent weeks.”

He added that the case should “serve as a warning” that police would “take robust action against those who commit these serious and harmful offences”.

CST said it was “proud of the contribution this work makes, not only to the safety and security of the Jewish community, but to all communities across the UK”.

The organisation wished to express “our deep appreciation to the UK’s counter-terrorism policing network for their hard work and support; we note the often-unrecognised contribution that CT police make to the UK’s national security, and to the safety and security of our Jewish community. CST’s open-source intelligence work forms a core part of protecting our Jewish community. On a daily basis our team are tracking and monitoring UK-based extremist networks, making referrals to counter-terrorism police and ensuring that those who may wish to do harm to our community, are stopped.