A “prominent member” of a banned white supremacist group has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences.
Luca Benincasa, 19, is the first person to be convicted of belonging to the Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) since the far-right organisation was banned in July 2020.
A Nazi dagger and Schutzstaffel (SS) officer’s hat were among items discovered in his bedroom in Cardiff when police raided his separated parents’ respective homes.
Appearing at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire on Friday, the teenager pleaded guilty to membership of the FKD and four counts of collecting information likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism on or before February 1 2022.
The banned terrorist group, which primarily exists online, is said to promote violence and mass murder in the pursuit of a race war.
Prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds said: “The defendant fits into the lower end of a prominent member role as opposed to merely an active member.”
Judge Jane Miller QC remanded Benincasa in custody as she adjourned sentencing to September 20.
A flag depicting the logo of the SS, Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary organisation, was hanging on Benincasa’s bedroom wall alongside a fascist Italian flag when police conducted a raid on February 1 this year.
Parts of an SS officer’s uniform, including a hat and Swastika armband, were also seized along with items of camouflage clothing, a tactical vest and masks.
Benincasa’s laptop was found to contain extreme right-wing literature and documents, including instructions on security and how to make explosives and poisons.
An unfinished “The Feuerkreig Division Handbook” was also discovered, as were handwritten notes linked to Benincasa’s extremist ideology.
The teenager appeared in court by video-link from Chelmsford prison in Essex, wearing glasses, and rosary beads over a blue polo shirt.
