A white supremacist planned a “murderous attack” on a Pride event in Cumbria, a court has heard.
Ethan Stables, 20, was planning to attack people during an LGBTQ Pride event at the New Empire pub in his hometown of Barrows-in-Furness, Cumbria on 23 June last year, prosecutors told Leeds Crown Court.
His attack was foiled after he shared his plans with a white supremacist Facebook group. A member of the private group who saw the messages shared a warning on Twitter and phoned the police.
“I’ve had enough. I don’t want to live in a gay world and I sure as hell don’t want my children living in one,” he reportedly said in the group chat.
Day Two of the trial of Ethan Stables: A summary https://t.co/wZbvxyK4zz pic.twitter.com/83la8ocJaP
— Amy Fenton (@amyfentonjourno) January 23, 2018
The defendant was arrested near the pub during a last act of reconnaissance on the evening of the Pride event. He had planned to return later that night to carry out the attack, the jury heard.
Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford described Stables as a “white supremacist” with a “deep-seated hatred” of minority groups including Jews, Muslims, black people, and “especially gay people”.
“Between 2016 and his arrest in 2017, he was planning and preparing to commit acts of terrorism directed towards members of these groups but, primarily, directed towards people who were lesbian or gay,” he said.
Stables had allegedly spent months researching weapons, including how to make his own explosives and firearms.
He collected a range of weapons including a machete, knives, an axe, an air rifle and a ball bearing gun for use during the attack after becoming “enraged” by the event, the jury heard.
Patrick Upward QC, defending, told the jury that his client was a “fantasist”, not a white supremacist. He also said the defendant has Asperger’s Syndrome, an openly gay uncle, and a best friend who is black.
The trial continues.
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