Cardiff teen admits part in banned neo-Nazi terror group

A teenager has pleaded guilty to being a member of a banned fascist group.

Luca Benincasa, 19, from the Whitchurch area of Cardiff, admitted belonging to the white supremacy group after it was outlawed in July 2020.

A Nazi dagger and Schutzstaffel (SS) officer's hat were among the items found when police raided his bedroom in February earlier this year.

Benincasa also admitted four counts of collecting information likely to be useful to a terrorist.

The Feuerkrieg Division primarily exists online and is said to promote violence and mass murder in the pursuit of a race war.

The group was proscribed by the UK government in 2020 but a flag depicting Adolf Hitler's parliamentary organisation was found hanging in Benincasa's bedroom wall during a police raid after that.

A fascist Italian flag, parts of a SS officer's uniform, including a hat and Swastika armband, were also seized along with items of camouflage clothing, a tactical vest and masks.

His laptop was found to contain extreme right-wing literature and documents, including instructions on security and how to make explosives and poisons.

Prosecutor Dan Pawson-Pounds told Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire on Friday that "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 20 September.