The 19-year-old had “actively desired” to travel to Syria and areas controlled by Islamic State, and had acknowledged that if he was prevented from doing so, he would attack the United Kingdom.
Essex teen condemned to at least six years for plotting a terrorist assault against police and military.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC deemed 19-year-old Matthew King of Wickford to be a public hazard.
After life, Judge Lucraft ordered King to serve six years before parole.
The court praised King’s mother for reporting her son to police for his behaviour during today’s punishment.
On 18 May of last year, King was detained by the Metropolitan Police and charged with planning terrorist acts.
He told his online fiancée that he wanted to torture and murder an American or British soldier. And he posted a picture of a police officer with the caption “Target acquired.”
He had been scouting potential targets and had previously expressed a desire to carry out a “mass casualty attack”
The detectives believe King had chosen his target and was preparing to attack when he was apprehended.
Despite his attorney’s claims that the defendant was on the path to deradicalization, Judge Lucraft found King to be a dangerous criminal who posed a risk of future injury to the public.
She was concerned about her son.
King “dabbled” with narcotics, was dismissed from school for aggression, and abandoned school at 16.
Approximately in 2020, he became intrigued by Islam, began attending mosques, and viewed YouTube videos of Muslims.
In May 2021, his family observed that he had become more radical, and his mother became concerned that he was viewing online content that promoted animosity, according to Mr. Jarvis.
King was reported “increasingly extreme and unstable” to the Anti-Terrorist Hotline and local police in 2022.
Additionally, King’s mother reported him to the Prevent Anti-terrorism program.
Judge Lucraft praised King’s mother for contacting Prevent about her son’s concerns.
That cannot have been a simple decision to make in the first place, and in my opinion, she made the correct choice.
Prosecutors say King contacted police between April 14 and 18 last year after sharing a video with a WhatsApp group.
The 13 April video was accompanied by a still image of a man holding a knife and the following text. “Those who said there is no jihad and no battle. They have lied! Our jihad will endure until Judgement Day!
“The battle has now begun. Therefore, draw your weapon, O youth, and destroy the kufr.”
Four weeks later, Scotland Yard Counter-Terrorism Command Commander Dominic Murphy said an attack was “imminent” when they captured King.
Mr. Murphy stated that King was a “dedicated, self-initiated terrorist” who “self-radicalized in his room using the internet.”
King spoke of murdering British soldiers and ‘non-Muslims’
King “actively desired” to travel to IS-controlled areas of Syria to join their activities, seeking advice on how to get there and using a WhatsApp group to discuss plans, according to a written confession document from the defense.
He also produced recordings praising the terrorist organisation and threatening to harm the UK if his trip to Syria was thwarted.
In December 2021, King created an account with the online store Knife Warehouse in an attempt to purchase a blade, and in March 2022, he purchased “tactical” mittens and goggles from an army surplus store.
During the COVID-19 closure, he had spent a great deal of time online, using his phone to watch a large number of extremist videos, including IS propaganda depicting suicide bombings and mass executions.
During multiple Snapchat conversations with a female friend that were subsequently recovered from King’s phone, he discussed his desire to travel to Syria to engage in violent jihad and to become a martyr.
King disclosed to the girl that he was preparing for jihad and intended to murder people.
He discussed his desire to torture and murder an American or British soldier in one particularly graphic exchange.
And he also joined an online discussion forum on terrorist finance and alternate paths to Syria.
He once amended his WhatsApp status to read, “Kill non-Muslims wherever you see them.”
King photographed police officers in Stratford, east London, on two occasions between March and May 2022, and filmed the side entrance of Stratford Police Station as he strolled by on a third occasion.
In May of last year, he also filmed an army garrison in Stratford.
