Far-right extremist who blew up kitchen guilty of explosives and terror charges

Vaughn Dolphin had denied any wrongdoing, telling police he was ‘not a terrorist’.

Vaughn Dolphin, making a white supremacist gesture (West Midlands Police/PA)

A bungling far-right extremist who blew up his own kitchen experimenting with explosives has been convicted of terrorism offences.

Hapless Vaughn Dolphin of Walsall, West Midlands, who said minorities “should be shot”, filmed himself in a gas mask surrounded by a cloud of smoke, after attempting to blend his blast mixture on a domestic hob.

Bragging about causing an “awesome fireball” in a series of selfie videos, later posted into extreme far-right chatrooms, he complained: “Ah the bastard f****** mixture set itself prematurely, oh my God”, then quipped: “Next time I’ll do this outside, but, ah well, you live and learn”.

When arrested, on June 27 2022, the defendant told police: “I’m not a terrorist, okay?”

However, at his home, officers uncovered a treasure trove of how-to guides on how to build a shotgun and homemade plastic explosives, and how to conduct arson attacks.

Also discovered was a host of material glorifying Hitler’s feared Second World War Nazi war-fighting organisation the SS, as well as an aluminium gun barrel drilled by Dolphin in his garden shed to make a rudimentary musket – which police described as a “viable” firearm.

The 20-year-old was convicted of two charges of possessing explosives a Birmingham Crown Court on Friday following a trial.

He was also found guilty of six counts of having documents likely to be of use to terrorists, and two charges of disseminating a terrorist publication.

Dolphin was further convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm – the crude musket barrel.