Neo-Nazi group 'member' had special wedding edition of Hitler's Mein Kampf, court hears
Mark Jones allegedly discussed buying book in online chat with Alice Cutter, who court heard entered National Action's 'Miss Hitler' beauty contest
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
An alleged member of a neo-Nazi terror group owned a special "wedding edition" of Adolf Hitler's autobiography, a court has heard.
Mark Jones told other extremists he had paid "a lot" for the copy of Mein Kampf, which featured a Nazi party application form, jurors at Birmingham Crown Court were told.
Jones, 24, and his partner Alice Cutter, 22, both of Mulhalls Mill, Sowerby Bridge, near Halifax, West Yorkshire, deny being members of National Action after it was outlawed by the government in December 2016.
Garry Jack, 23, from Heathland Avenue, Shard End, Birmingham, and 18-year-old Connor Scothern, of Bagnall Avenue, Nottingham, also deny belonging to the organisation between December 2016 and September 2017.
Their trial heard on Wednesday that Mr Jones and Ms Cutter discussed the purchase of another book in an online chat group in February 2017.
Mr Jones - under the username Grandaddy Terror - is said to have written: "£50 for a book. F*** me.
"What are you actually getting for 50? I paid a lot for an original wedding edition of Mein Kampf with NSDAP [National Socialist German Workers Party] application form in the back but that's a rarity.
"I would not pay that much for normal books."
Hitler's Nazi Party gave the wedding edition of his book to couples when they married.
After the chat group messages were read out in court by a police officer, jurors were shown a picture - recovered by police in September 2017 - of a masked man alleged to be Mr Jones holding a copy of Mein Kampf.
Other messages heard in court on the sixth day of the trial included posts allegedly from 22-year-old Cutter telling a wheelchair-user to "get back in the sea where you belong".
A series of messages allegedly written by Ms Cutter, who is said to have entered National Action's "Miss Hitler" beauty contest, stated: "I discovered my least favourite demographic. Uppity retards."
The court has heard an online chat group called the "Triple K Mafia" featured posts discussing "lesser races" mixing with Aryans.
It is also alleged Ms Cutter messaged her partner asking him to return home to "make sure everything is wiped" as the government announced a ban on National Action.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting by PA
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.