Neo-Nazis who named their baby after Hitler jailed under counter-terrorism laws

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By VT

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A neo-Nazi couple who named their baby after Hitler and were "willing to murder a mixed-race child" have been jailed for membership of an antisemitic terrorist group.

Adam Thomas, 22, and Claudia Patatas, 38, had a "long history of violent racist beliefs", Judge Melbourne Inman QC, claimed at their trial at Birmingham crown court, England, on Tuesday.

The court heard how Patatas believed "all Jews must be put to death" and how both had claimed they were "willing to murder a mixed-race child" in order to further their neo-Nazi agenda.

Adam Thomas and Claudia Patatas
[[imagecaption|| Credit: West Midlands Police]]

"These are not idle words," the judge told Patatas. "The vile regime you and Thomas worship, and which you wish to impose on this country, did – and would do – exactly that."

The couple had given their baby son the middle name of "Adolf", which Thomas said was in "admiration" of Hitler, and had swastika cushions in their home.

According to reports, the two cried and held hands in the dock as Thomas was jailed for six years and six months, and Patatas for five years.

The pair, who lived in Banbury, Oxfordshire, were members of a UK terrorist group named National Action, which was banned in 2016.

Adam Thomas, Claudia Patatas, Daniel Bogunovic
[[imagecaption|| Credit: West Midlands Police]]

They were jailed alongside four other members: Daniel Bogunovic, 27, who was given six years and four months in jail, Joel Wilmore, 24, who was sentenced to five years and 10 months, Darren Fletcher, 28, given three years and four months and Nathan Pryke, 27, sentenced to five years and five months.

On Tuesday, Judge Melbourne Inman QC described the terrorist group as having "horrific aims".

"Its aims and objectives are the overthrow of democracy in this country by serious violence and murder, and the imposition of a Nazi-style state which would eradicate whole sections of society by such violence and mass murder," he said. "The eradication of those who you consider to be inferior because of no more than the colour of their skin or their religion."

Earlier in the case, the court had heard how Fletcher - described by the judge as an "extreme member" - had trained his toddler to do a Nazi salute and sent a message to Patatas stating: "finally got her to do it".

Joel Wilmore, Darren Fletcher, Nathan Pryke
[[imagecaption|| Credit: West Midlands Police]]

In sentencing Patatas, a wedding photographer from Portugal who wanted to "bring back concentration camps", the judge claimed: "You were equally as extreme as Thomas both in your views and actions. You acted together in all you thought, said and did, in the naming of your son and the disturbing photographs of your child, surrounded by symbols of Nazism and the Ku Klux Klan."

Her partner Thomas, a former Amazon security guard and twice-failed army applicant, was also convicted of having a terrorist manual with bomb-making instructions.

In addition, a police search of the home he shared with Patatas uncovered machetes, knives and crossbows, with one of these items reportedly kept just a few feet from their baby's crib.

Neo-Nazis who named their baby after Hitler jailed under counter-terrorism laws

vt-author-image

By VT

Article saved!Article saved!

A neo-Nazi couple who named their baby after Hitler and were "willing to murder a mixed-race child" have been jailed for membership of an antisemitic terrorist group.

Adam Thomas, 22, and Claudia Patatas, 38, had a "long history of violent racist beliefs", Judge Melbourne Inman QC, claimed at their trial at Birmingham crown court, England, on Tuesday.

The court heard how Patatas believed "all Jews must be put to death" and how both had claimed they were "willing to murder a mixed-race child" in order to further their neo-Nazi agenda.

Adam Thomas and Claudia Patatas
[[imagecaption|| Credit: West Midlands Police]]

"These are not idle words," the judge told Patatas. "The vile regime you and Thomas worship, and which you wish to impose on this country, did – and would do – exactly that."

The couple had given their baby son the middle name of "Adolf", which Thomas said was in "admiration" of Hitler, and had swastika cushions in their home.

According to reports, the two cried and held hands in the dock as Thomas was jailed for six years and six months, and Patatas for five years.

The pair, who lived in Banbury, Oxfordshire, were members of a UK terrorist group named National Action, which was banned in 2016.

Adam Thomas, Claudia Patatas, Daniel Bogunovic
[[imagecaption|| Credit: West Midlands Police]]

They were jailed alongside four other members: Daniel Bogunovic, 27, who was given six years and four months in jail, Joel Wilmore, 24, who was sentenced to five years and 10 months, Darren Fletcher, 28, given three years and four months and Nathan Pryke, 27, sentenced to five years and five months.

On Tuesday, Judge Melbourne Inman QC described the terrorist group as having "horrific aims".

"Its aims and objectives are the overthrow of democracy in this country by serious violence and murder, and the imposition of a Nazi-style state which would eradicate whole sections of society by such violence and mass murder," he said. "The eradication of those who you consider to be inferior because of no more than the colour of their skin or their religion."

Earlier in the case, the court had heard how Fletcher - described by the judge as an "extreme member" - had trained his toddler to do a Nazi salute and sent a message to Patatas stating: "finally got her to do it".

Joel Wilmore, Darren Fletcher, Nathan Pryke
[[imagecaption|| Credit: West Midlands Police]]

In sentencing Patatas, a wedding photographer from Portugal who wanted to "bring back concentration camps", the judge claimed: "You were equally as extreme as Thomas both in your views and actions. You acted together in all you thought, said and did, in the naming of your son and the disturbing photographs of your child, surrounded by symbols of Nazism and the Ku Klux Klan."

Her partner Thomas, a former Amazon security guard and twice-failed army applicant, was also convicted of having a terrorist manual with bomb-making instructions.

In addition, a police search of the home he shared with Patatas uncovered machetes, knives and crossbows, with one of these items reportedly kept just a few feet from their baby's crib.