Key facts
- Ivan Jennings, 46, was jailed for five years and three months for encouraging terrorism.
- Jennings pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism and disseminating a terrorism publication.
- He was an active participant in at least seven extreme rightwing groups on Telegram.
- Jennings shared a manifesto by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik.
- He discussed poisoning Jews and Muslims and called for the killing of migrants.
- Jennings searched for motorboat chartering services at Dover and the cost to hire a boat in the UK.
A far-right extremist from Stafford has been jailed for over five years for encouraging terrorism and disseminating a terrorism publication. Ivan Jennings, 46, was sentenced at Leicester crown court on Wednesday for his involvement in extreme rightwing groups on Telegram between August and November 2024.
Jennings pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism and disseminating a terrorism publication, specifically a manifesto by Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik. The court heard that Jennings, a father-of-four who worked at a warehouse, was an active participant in at least seven extremist groups on the social media platform. He expressed views calling for the murder of hundreds of people he labelled “subhumans”, stating it was “justified and actually needed”.
During his online activity, Jennings searched for motorboat chartering services at Dover and the cost to hire a boat in the UK, commenting on a shared video of a boat: “We need one of those to take out the dinghy divers.” He also suggested that each person “needs to take out at least 200 and stop the constant influx [of migrants]”. Jennings referenced the Christchurch terror attacks, stating, “We need a bigger impact,” and identified a Pakistan independence day event in Manchester as a potential target, saying, “We need to start acting.”
In a smaller group chat, discussions included the most poisonous mushrooms and how to introduce them into the food of Jews or Muslims. Jennings' defence barrister, Oliver Renton, stated that Jennings had collapsed at work in 2023 in cardiac arrest and subsequently descended into “fear and isolation,” becoming susceptible to “nihilistic, bleak worldviews.” Sentencing Jennings, Judge Lockhart KC described his views as “deeply held abhorrent and racist views.”