The UK is to become the first country in the world to proscribe the Terrorgram collective after a draft proscription order has been laid against the group in Parliament today (22 April), the Home Secretary has confirmed.
The Terrorgram collective is an online network of neo-fascist terrorists who produce and disseminate violent propaganda to encourage those who consume its content to engage in terrorist activity.
If agreed by Parliament, the order will come into effect on 26 April. This means that it will be a criminal offence to belong to, invite support for, or in certain circumstances, display articles associated with the network. Certain proscription offences can be punishable by up to 14 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said:
The Terrorgram collective spreads vile propaganda and aims to radicalise young people to conduct heinous terrorist acts. This is why we are outlawing membership or support for the group – we will not tolerate the promotion or encouragement of terrorism in the United Kingdom.
It will become the first online terrorist network to be proscribed, alongside 80 other Extreme Right-Wing and Islamist organisations, as we continue to disrupt and outlaw terrorist groups to protect the British people.
The UK is the first country to proscribe this organisation, demonstrating the government’s commitment to tackle Extreme Right-Wing terrorism and online radicalisation in all forms. It also showcases the ability of the proscription tool to be applied to an online terrorist network, and is the first time it has been used in this way.
Following an internal review, the term ‘Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism’ was adopted as the umbrella term to make it clear that those who hold mainstream right-wing views will not be in scope of any action by counter-terrorism authorities.
The Terrorgram collective glorify attacks committed by neo-fascist terrorists, who they consider to be ‘saints,’ and encourage replication of such heinous attacks including by disseminating instructional material to help others prepare to commit acts of terrorism.
In addition to the proscription offences, several other Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) offences continue to apply to terrorist offending online. For example, section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 makes it a criminal offence for a person to collect or possess information, or to view it online, which is likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing for acts of terrorism.
The Terrorgram collective is the 6th extreme right-wing group to be proscribed, standing alongside 75 groups proscribed for extreme Islamist or other ideologies, and 14 Northern Ireland-related groups. It also subscribes to militant accelerationist and neo-fascist ideologies, notably pursuing the collapse of the Western world and a ‘Race War’ through violent acts of terrorism, and often seeks to target young individuals to adopt their ideology.
They have previously published propaganda material designed to incite violence against ethnic and religious communities, with calls for antisemitic violence. Their propaganda also contains violent narratives that glorified the perpetrator of the 2022 Slovakia attack at a LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting, which resulted in the death of 2 people, who credited Terrorgram and its publications in his manifesto.
Whilst Islamist-inspired terrorism continues to represent the greatest terrorist threat to UK interests, the threat from Extreme-Right Wing Terrorism is growing and evolving, particularly through the radicalisation of increasingly younger individuals from dangerous online content.
Proscription grants Counter Terrorism Policing the power to compel tech companies and social media platforms to remove or block the organisation’s online content for UK users, which will be now illegal.
It is also illegal under Section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 to disseminate terrorist publications including circulating, selling, or transmitting a terrorist publication online.
Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said:
The Terrorgram collective is a dangerous neo-fascist organisation that actively encourages and promotes terrorist activity.
We must do everything in our power to deter and limit the reach of hateful and terrorist ideologies, and to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Proscribing the Terrorgram collective will do just that.
The government will always use the breadth of tools available to tackle online terrorist content. The Home Office works closely with tech companies to ensure they uphold their legal obligations with regards to removing illegal terrorist content.
The Terrorgram collective will become the 81st group to be proscribed by the UK, including ISIS, National Action and the recently proscribed Wagner Group and Hizb ut-Tahrir.