A right-wing extremist who was found guilty of being in possession of a bomb-making instruction manual has been spared a prison sentence in favor of a court order forcing him to read classic literature.
As reported by The Guardian, Ben John, a 21-year-old former student from the UK, downloaded nearly 70,000 white supremacist documents and bomb-making instructions.
He avoided incarceration and was instead ordered to read classic literature by Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Thomas Hardy, and Charles Dickens.
What's more, John was made to promise that he would not download any more right-wing material, Leicester Mercury reports.
John is expected to return to court every four months, where he will be tested on his reading, Judge Timothy Spencer QC ordered.
The ex-De Montfort student was also sentenced to a suspended two years' imprisonment and another two years on license.
Furthermore, John was handed a five-year Serious Crime Prevention Order, which means he must stay in touch with the police and allow them to monitor his online activity. He also has to undergo 30 days of a Healthy Identity Intervention program.
Earlier this month, John was convicted of being in possession of information that could potentially be of use in committing an act of terror. The guilty verdict had a maximum jail sentence of 15 years.
However, Judge Spencer, who deemed the crime to be an isolated incident, ultimately decided against more serious repercussions, taking the defendant's age and perceived lack of wisdom into account.
Judge Spencer told John at the sentencing hearing that he felt he was a very lonely person, and questioned how many real friends he had.
The judge also said John was liable to be recruited by others who are more likely to take action but ultimately decided it was unlikely that the young man would have caused any harm.
John had been identified as a terror risk shortly after he turned 18 and was promptly referred to the Prevent program.
However, he still persistently downloaded right-wing material and wrote a letter attacking members of the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and liberals.
