Andrew Dymock: Neo-Nazi jailed for fundraising for extreme right-wing group

Andrew Dymock founded two terror organisations and was found guilty on 15 charges

Andrew Dymock, pictured in a selfie found by police, was sentenced to seven years (Counter-Terrorism Policing North East)

A neo-Nazi has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of fundraising for an extreme right-wing group and promoting its “distorted and wicked cause”.

Andrew Dymock was found guilty in June of 12 terror offences, including encouraging and funding terrorism, and three hate crimes targeting race and sexuality.

The 24-year-old founded two extreme right-wing groups, which were proscribed as terror organisations in February 2020. He set up the System Resistance Network (SRN) group in 2017, promoting it on a website and Twitter before being expelled. After being “ousted” as leader of the SRN, he went on to form a new group.

On Wednesday at the Old Bailey, Judge Mark Dennis QC found Dymock to be a dangerous offender, highlighting his continuing “state of denial”. The judge said Dymock had been an “active and committed proponent for right-wing neo-Nazi extremism”.

Dymock was “driven by an extremist mindset that by the time of his arrest had become entrenched”, and his actions had been “calculated and sophisticated” and designed to encourage others to commit “gratuitous violence against people because of their race, creed or sexuality”, the judge said.

He sentenced Dymock to seven years in prison, with a further three years on an extended licence.

The jury found Dymock guilty of five charges of encouraging terrorism, two of fundraising for terrorism, four counts of disseminating terrorist publications, possessing a terrorist document, stirring up racial hatred and hatred based on sexual orientation, and possessing racially inflammatory material.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward suggested the offending was made worse because Dymock communicated with other known extremists and used encrypted technology to avoid detection.

The counter-extremist group Hope Not Hate said Dymock was a “dangerous extremist” and welcomed his sentencing.

Nick Lowles, the CEO of Hope Not Hate, said: “Dymock is a manipulative and cunning nationalist socialist who has propagated and encouraged his followers, many of them teenagers, to become involved in terrorism.

“His refusal to take responsibility for his actions, and his attempts to blame others for what he did, show that he remains a danger to society.

“Despite his trial and conviction, we believe there are many unanswered questions about his far-right links and crimes.”

Dymock was the 67th far-right extremist to have been convicted of terror offences since 2017, according to Hope Not Hate. Mr Lowles said Dymock was “the latest in a long line of Nazis sent to prison for terror offences”.

He added: “While it is welcome that the police are taking the threat more seriously, it remains the case that the government’s strategy to tackle the challenge is incoherent and patchy.”

The former politics student was arrested in 2018 after being behind the establishment of two terror organisations. Dymock set up SRN while studying politics at Aberystwyth University in Wales in 2017.

The group was formed after National Action was banned in 2016. The government said SRN operated as an “alias” of National Action after members split the group into factions to dodge the ban. Ms Ledward said SRN sought to “stir up a race war against ethnic minorities and others that it perceived as race traitors”.

Other members of SRN expelled Dymock from the group in late February 2018 for his “satanist” views, and he went on to form another group, Sonnenkrieg Division.

The group operated as the UK arm of the American terrorist group Atomwaffen Division, which has been linked to several murders.

Dymock was arrested in June 2018 at Gatwick Airport as he tried to board a flight to the US – allegedly for a trip where he would meet US neo-Nazi James Mason. Police found in his luggage extreme right-wing literature, including Siege, an anthology of pro-Nazi essays written by James Mason, and Mein Kampf, along with clothing bearing neo-Nazi logos.

During his trial, Dymock denied all charges and claimed he was “set up”. After the verdicts were given, he asked to say goodbye to his parents and told jurors: “Thank you for killing me.”

He was supported throughout his trial by his parents, Stella and David Dymock, a professor of dentistry at Bristol University, with whom he lived in Bath, Somerset. The court heard they had written to the judge asking for leniency ahead of the sentencing and were “extremely worried” about the impact of jail on their son.

Judge Dennis said it was a “sad factor” in cases like this that the defendant was relatively young. “The collateral damage on conviction is huge for the family, who knew nothing about it or did not recognise the signs, and thought they had done everything they could to bring their child up in a responsible way,” he said.

Additional reporting by Press Association