Do your homework - or go to jail: Judge's bizarre sentence for extremist

A former student who downloaded close to 70,000 white supremacist documents and bomb-making plans has miraculously avoided jail "by the skin of his teeth". Photo / Getty

A former student who downloaded close to 70,000 white supremacist documents and bomb-making plans has miraculously avoided jail "by the skin of his teeth", with the judge instead handing down a rather bizarre alternative punishment.

UK man Ben John was identified as a terror risk days after his 18th birthday and was referred to the prevent programme but continued to download "repellent" right-wing documents, the Leicester Mercury reported.

He also wrote a letter raging against gay people, immigrants and liberals.

In court, instead of sending him to jail, Judge Timothy Spencer QC decided to force John to read classic literature by Dickens, Austen, Shakespeare and Hardy or face prison time.

The 21-year-old has to return to court every four months to be tested on his reading.

He was also sentenced to a suspended two years' imprisonment plus a further two years on licence.

On 11 August, he was convicted by a jury of possessing information likely to be useful for preparing an act of terror, which carries a maximum jail sentence of 15 years.

During sentencing, the judge told John his crime was likely to be "an act of teenage folly", explaining he believes it is an isolated incident.

"You are a lonely individual with few if any true friends." He said John was "highly susceptible" to recruitment by others, but he was "not of the view that harm was likely to have been caused".

The judge made John promise not to download any more right-wing material.

He then asked John if he has ever read Dickens' literature.

"Have you read Dickens? Austen? Start with Pride and Prejudice and Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Think about Hardy. Think about Trollope.

"On 4 January you will tell me what you have read and I will test you on it. I will test you and if I think you are [lying to] me you will suffer."

He then told John's barrister: "He has by the skin of his teeth avoided imprisonment."

John was also given a five-year serious crime prevention order.

The 21-year-old came to the attention of authorities in 2018 after he wrote a letter titled Eternal Front - claiming to be part of the Lincolnshire Facist Underground.

Despite intervention he then downloaded a further 9000 copies of right-wing and terror-related documents.

In January 220 he was arrested and charged with offences under the UK's Terrorism Act.

At the time police said John had become part of the extreme right-wing online group XRW - a term for activists who commit criminal activity motivated by a political or cultural view, such as racism or extreme nationalism.

In total he downloaded 67,788 documents which contained a wealth of white supremacist and antisemitic material.

The judge said: "It is repellent, this content, to any right-thinking person. This material is largely relating to Nazi, fascist and Adolf Hitler-inspired ideology. But there was also a substantial quantity of more contemporary material espousing extreme rightwing, white-supremacist material."

However, in response, John's lawyer said he struggled with his emotions but now has greater insight, declaring he is "by no means a lost cause and is capable of living a normal, pro-social life".