White nationalist, 24, who idolised Hitler and Anders Breivik, threatened to burn down mosque and had images of people having sex with mutilated women is jailed for seven years

 A Nazi-obsessed white supremacist who glorified terrorist atrocities online and threatened to burn down a local mosque has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Sam Imrie, 24, of Glenrothes, Fife, was convicted of two terrorism charges and six others following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in October.

At a sentencing on Thursday, Imrie was also added to the sex offenders register for 10 years after being found in possession of extreme pornography.

The 'despicable' Scotsman's collection included indecent images of children and sexually explicit images involving mutilated human corpses, found stored in a file on his computer named 'dead girl pics'.

Imrie, who the court heard idolised Adolf Hitler, was also convicted of setting fires - which he shared footage of online - and of driving while unfit through drink or drugs. 

He was cleared of a third terrorism charge in which he was accused of planning an attack on the Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes.

The charge stemmed from statements he posted online suggesting he was going to live stream footage of 'an incident'.

Imrie then uploaded a video showing the exterior of the mosque before driving to an abandoned building in Thornton and filming himself setting fire to the doorway - pretending it was the Islamic Centre. 

At trial, the court heard how Imrie had a photo of Hitler addressing a Nuremberg rally as his Facebook cover photo and that his password for his laptop was 'n****rkiller'.  

He also used Telegram and Facebook to glorify the mass killings carried out by convicted terrorists, including Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant, who between them slaughtered 128 innocent lives in separate attacks in New Zealand and Norway. 

Imrie, who had swastikas plastered all over his wardrobe, also made racist comments about the Muslim and Jewish communities, which the charge stated he did with the intention of encouraging acts of terrorism.

Sentencing Imrie to seven-and-a-half years at Glasgow's High Court, Lord Mulholland said he was 'spreading hate' and told him to use his time in jail to 'remove hatred from your heart'. Sam Imrie, 24, uploaded a video showing the exterior of a mosque before driving to an abandoned building and filming himself setting fire to the doorway (pictured) - pretending it was the Islamic Centre

Sam Imrie, 24, uploaded a video showing the exterior of a mosque before driving to an abandoned building and filming himself setting fire to the doorway (pictured) - pretending it was the Islamic Centre

Imrie, of Glenrothes, Fife, was convicted of two terrorism charges and six others following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in October (Pictured: Green petrol can used in his fire video)

Imrie, of Glenrothes, Fife, was convicted of two terrorism charges and six others following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh in October (Pictured: Green petrol can used in his fire video)

He said Imrie revered white supremacists and referred to terrorists as heroes, lauding their kill counts of innocent people.

It came after the court heard that between June 20 and July 4, 2019, Imrie had information of a kind 'likely to be useful' to someone preparing an act of terrorism, namely copies of The Great Replacement by Tarrant, who killed 51 people at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019, and a manifesto by Breivik, who killed 77 people in two separate attacks in Norway in 2011. 

Lord Mulholland said: 'You were spreading hate and encouraging others to take terrorist action.

'Your conduct was despicable. You have no understanding or self awareness of the hate you sought to spread.

'Walk around any city, town or village and you will quickly find memorials to people of this country who gave their lives defending the freedoms you enjoy.'

He said the actions of mass murderers such as Breivik and Tarrant are to be 'reviled' and added: 'You should use your time in jail to reflect on your conduct and remove hatred from your heart.'

Lord Mulholland also imposed a five-year serious crime prevention order which will start on the day of his release.

Imrie, who the court heard posted on far-right websites from his bedroom, will also be subject to terrorism notification requirements for 15 years.  

The court heard that his mother Joyce Imrie had described her son as a 'loner' and a 'recluse'.

In her statement to police on the day after her son's arrest, Ms Imrie said: 'I would describe him as a loner who very rarely leaves his room. 

'He has no friends, no visitors to the house, no girlfriend that I'm aware of.'

She also initially told investigators that she believed her son had shaved his head due to his 'infatuation with Hitler'.

Jim Keegan QC, representing Imrie, said that the 24-year-old had showed a 'substantial lack of maturity'.

He said: 'Your Lordship has heard the accused giving evidence and his own acknowledgment that his behaviour was inappropriate.'

Giving evidence at the October trial, Robert Steer, 51, a cybercrime leader in digital forensics for the police, told the court Imrie's laptop and phone had 78 files showing deceased women that he believed were 'genuine' photos, some of which were taken at a morgue.

Imrie threatened to set fire to the Fife Islamic Centre (pictured) - but was cleared of planning an attack at trial

Imrie threatened to set fire to the Fife Islamic Centre (pictured) - but was cleared of planning an attack at trial 

Several symbols associated with 'far right Nazism' were also found on Imrie's social media account, the court was told, including the 1488 symbol (pictured) - believed to reference a passage in Hitler's Mein Kampf and 'Heil Hitler'

Several symbols associated with 'far right Nazism' were also found on Imrie's social media account, the court was told, including the 1488 symbol (pictured) - believed to reference a passage in Hitler's Mein Kampf and 'Heil Hitler'

He said several of the images were 'distinct' showing sexual activity with the corpses.

Jurors heard that 67 images of child exploitation were also found on his phone.

Mr Steer said there were 17 photos classed as category A under the UK’s child abuse image database (CAID), which involves photos showing penetrative sex or sadist acts with an animal or a child, Mr Steer told the court.

There were also eight images under category B and 42 under category C.

Category B involves images involving non-penetrative sexual activity with a child, while category C relates to 'other indecent images' that could include children 'sexually posing', Mr Steer said.

On the same laptop recovered from Imrie’s bedroom there was a folder called 'Hero’s', which had sub-folders including one named Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant.

During trial, the High Court in Edinburgh heard a recording of an interview carried out with Imrie by police on July 8, 2019.

The accused told police he was a 'white nationalist'. Asked what that meant, he replied: 'It means I care about my race.'

At trial Imrie denied he thought white people were superior to non-whites, saying he believed the Chinese were superior.

He made no response when it was put to him that that view 'flies in the face of white nationalism'.

Giving evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh in October (pictured), Detective Constable Murray Cairns said several symbols associated with 'far right Nazism' were found on Imrie's social media account

Giving evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh in October (pictured), Detective Constable Murray Cairns said several symbols associated with 'far right Nazism' were found on Imrie's social media account

When jurors were told how he made a series of derogatory remarks about minority groups on the messaging app Telegram, Imrie blamed his actions on alcohol.

When asked about his visit to the Fife Islamic Centre in July 2019, which he had threatened to burn down on the Telegram app, Imrie said: 'It was a joke.'

Several symbols associated with 'far right Nazism' were also found on his social media account, the court was told. 

Detective Constable Murray Cairns said one post, which read '1488', could be explained in two parts.

He told the court that the number 14 related to a sentence in Hitler's book Mein Kampf that said 'we must assure a future for our people and a future for white children'.

The officer said it is associated with 'modern neo-Nazi movements'.

The number 88, meanwhile, was said to be possibly read as 'HH' or 'Heil Hitler', with the numbers 'transposed to letters'.

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