A neo-Nazi who drew up a racist “kill list” of colleagues and customers at the Tesco where he worked has been found guilty of planning a mass gun attack after being caught in an MI5 sting.
Alfie Coleman, now 21, from Great Notley in Essex, was convicted at the Old Bailey of preparing acts of terrorism after a retrial. Prosecutors said he was trying to buy a Makarov semi-automatic pistol, five magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition, using £3,500 saved from his part-time supermarket job.
The court heard Coleman idolised Adolf Hitler and extreme right-wing killers including Thomas Mair, who murdered MP Jo Cox in 2016, as well as Dylann Roof and Brenton Tarrant. Investigators said his writings, online activity and attempted weapons purchase showed he had moved beyond fantasy and into active planning for a mass attack.
Prosecutors said Coleman compiled a list of people who had “upset” him, including customers and former colleagues he branded “race traitors”. One entry referred to a female checkout worker whose husband was of mixed heritage, alongside details of her vehicle and appearance.
The jury heard Coleman had been in contact for months with undercover MI5 officers on encrypted apps while trying to obtain weapons. He had originally discussed getting a Skorpion submachine gun and an AK47 in France, but later agreed to buy the Makarov pistol and ammunition in an undercover operation.
That sting ended in a Morrisons car park in Stratford on 29 September 2023, when Coleman dropped cash into a vehicle and collected a holdall containing the deactivated handgun and ammunition before armed counter-terror officers moved in and arrested him.
Police said evidence recovered from his home and devices included extremist literature, manifestos, weapons-related material, bomb-making documents, knives, neo-Nazi symbols and diaries setting out grievances and attack ideas. Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Flanagan said the case showed Coleman was a dangerous individual whose actions suggested intent for a mass-casualty attack rather than violence against just one person.
Coleman had already pleaded guilty to attempting to possess a prohibited firearm and ammunition, along with 10 counts of possessing material likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism. He denied planning a terror attack, but the retrial jury found him guilty of preparing acts of terrorism. He is due to be sentenced on 8 July.
Counter-terror police said the case also underlined a wider trend of younger people being pulled into extremist ideology online at an early age.