Nineteen-year-old Matthew King from Great Britain, who planned a terrorist attack on police and soldiers, was sentenced to a discretionary life sentence after his mother took what a judge described as "the brave step of reporting him," the Guardian reports.
According to the British media, Matthew King wanted to travel to Syria and join ISIS. He watched extremist content on the Internet, monitored military barracks, police stations, followed local court officials. He then took a series of videos of potential targets in front of the barracks, the courthouse and the train station.
King pleaded guilty in January to preparing acts of terrorism between December 22, 2021 and May 17, 2022.
The teenager will serve a discretionary life sentence. This means that after six years he will be able to apply for release, but will only be released if he is no longer considered a danger to society.
In case of release, he must not violate certain conditions. Otherwise, he will be sent back to prison.
After the arrest, it was determined that King had tried to buy knives and a sword online. An ISIS flag, a phantom and gloves were found in his backpack.
The BBC reports that police believe King, bored at home during quarantine, turned from a "troubled young man" into a potential terrorist.
He was expelled from school at the age of 16 due to peer violence and drug problems.
During the corona virus pandemic, he became interested in Islam and then everyone around him noticed that he had become more extreme, so he threatened the sisters that they had to dress more modestly.
He was also arrested last year when police discovered on his phone that he had joined an online terror financing group.
He changed his WhatsApp status to: "Killing non-Muslims" and recorded himself rapping about fellow terrorists at Belmarsh prison, known as Britain's Guantanamo.
AE/Guardian/BBC
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews atwww.vreme.com
