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Teen who spread hatred against Jews admits possessing synagogue killer’s manifesto
18-year-old also shared far-right terrorist material and wrote his own manifesto suggesting plans for a future attack
A white supremacist teenager who posted material encouraging hatred against Jews has admitted to possessing the manifesto of a neo-Nazi gunman who attacked a German synagogue.
Damien Woolfenden, 18, formerly of Bury, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty to 12 terrorism and hate-related offences at the Old Bailey on Friday.
Among the material found on his computer was the manifesto of Stephan Balliet, who attacked a synagogue in Halle, Germany, in 2019, after failing to force his way inside during Yom Kippur.
Woolfenden also possessed the manifesto of American white supremacist Payton Gendron, who murdered 10 Black people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in 2022.
The court heard that he had published posts on X and Telegram intended to stir up racial hatred against Jewish people and foreigners.
Woolfenden had also written his own “personal manifesto”, with documents suggesting he was considering carrying out an attack using firearms after the elections in 2028.
He admitted sharing footage of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were murdered, on a website describing itself as “pro-white”.
He also distributed the manifesto of Norwegian far-right terrorist Anders Breivik, who killed 77 people in two attacks in 2011, through a Telegram group.
Police found further documents relating to firearms and bomb-making.
During Friday’s hearing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she had reviewed material expressing hatred towards several groups based on “white racial superiority”.
Woolfenden, who has no previous convictions, admitted five counts of possessing material useful for terrorism and two counts of distributing terrorist publications.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of publishing materials stirring up racial hatred, one count relating to religious hatred and another involving hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation.
He was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing at Manchester Crown Court on 4 December.
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