Sam Imrie is accused of targeting the Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes. A man accused of terrorism offences told police his claim he was going to set fire to a mosque was a “joke”, a court has heard. After his arrest, Sam Imrie told officers he wasn’t serious when he claimed on social media that he planned to broadcast live to internet users. The High Court in Edinburgh heard a recording of the 24 year-old being interviewed by detectives in July 2019. Imrie denies nine charges, including three under the Terrorism Act. Investigating officers believed he was plotting a terrorist attack at Fife Islamic Centre in Glenrothes. Imrie told them he had been drinking when he allegedly posted comments on instant messaging app Telegram. Speaking about a series of comments in which he said he “hated” Jewish, Black and Muslim people, Imrie told them: “I wouldn’t do it if I was sober.” The evidence emerged on the fifth day of proceedings against Imrie, who is from Glenrothes. During the interview at Glasgow’s Govan police station, Imrie was asked about a series of postings he made on a group on Telegram called “FashWave Artists”. Earlier the court heard that the group hosted images and texts of terrorists like Anders Breivik and Brenton Tarrant. Breivik carried out a mass shooting in Norway which resulted in the deaths of 77 people in 2011 and Tarrant was responsible for murdering 51 people at mosques in Christchurch New Zealand in 2019. Imrie told officers during the interview that he was a “white nationalist”. He added: “I care about my race.” (…) He is accused of posting statements on Telegram indicating he planned to stream live footage of “an incident” and posting statements suggesting he was going to carry out an attack on the Fife Islamic Centre. Prosecutors allege Imrie collected information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and that Imrie possessed a quantity of “Nazi, neo-Nazi, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic and other racist” texts and audio files which “glorified terrorism”. He is said to have driven to the Fife Islamic Centre in Poplar Road, where he “carried out observations” whilst in possession of a can of petrol. It is said that he later posted images of the place of worship to Telegram. It is also alleged that Imrie then went to St Drostan’s cemetery at Markinch, Fife, and set fire to a property there. He also faces charges concerning child pornography, possessing “extreme” pornographic material and being found “unfit to drive through drink or drugs” in July 2019.
via bbc: Glenrothes mosque terror plot accused said threats were ‘a joke’