Aldershot man, 22, convicted of terrorism offences

This press release has been issued on behalf of our colleages at Counter Terrorism Policing South East

A man has been found guilty of terrorism offences by a jury at Winchester Crown Court.  

Charles Cannon, of Highfield Avenue, Aldershot, was convicted of seven counts of possession of documents containing information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

The 22-year-old was stopped at Luton Airport on 31 August 2020 and a number of documents and images were found on his laptop and phone of an extreme right-wing nature along with homemade explosive manuals.

Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, Head of CTPSE, said: “I am pleased the evidence against Cannon has resulted in this conviction.

“He downloaded and read a number of documents supporting an extreme right-wing ideology, compounded by comments he made online and Nazi memorabilia found in his possession.”

During an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) it was found he joined a number of chat channels which contained extreme right-wing material and showed he had an interest in Nazism.

He was convicted at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday 23 November and is due to be sentenced at the same court on Friday 2 February 2024.

Detective Chief Superintendent, Olly Wright, continued: “I am very grateful for the hard work of my team within CTPSE and our CTP colleagues at Luton Airport, whose collective professionalism has secured this conviction. 

“The Counter Terrorism Policing network works tirelessly to protect our communities from terrorism, but we really do rely on the work of colleagues in police forces and other agencies, as well the vigilance of the public.

“Please do trust your instincts to report things that just don’t seem right. ACT by reporting in confidence to gov.uk/ACT ”

Reporting won’t ruin lives, but it could save them. Action Counters Terrorism (ACT). 

In an emergency, always dial 999.