For millions of fans, going to a Justin Bieber concert would be the best day of their life, but the singer’s June 30th concert at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales could have ended in tragedy: A 17-year-old boy, who has not been named due to his age, stands accused of planning a terrorist attack at the show.
During the trial, which is currently ongoing, it has been revealed, as The Guardian notes, that the accused searched online for details about the event’s security, and police found a claw hammer, a kitchen knife, and suspicious notes and letters in his backpack and bedroom. One note had bullet points that included items like “run down the non-believers with a car” and “strike the infidels who oppose Allah in the neck.” Another note read:
“I am a soldier of the Islamic State. I have attacked Cardiff today because your government keep on bombing targets in Syria and Iraq. There will be more attacks in the future.”
Prosecutor Matthew Brook said to the jury:
“In this case, the evidence will prove that he became radicalized over the internet. He had terrorist material stored on his computer, he published posts on Instagram which encouraged terrorism, and he was planning a ‘lone wolf’ style attack in the name of Islam.
In June of this year, the defendant had been posting material on Instagram. He posted images of terrorists, pictures of the Isis flag and images encouraging a terrorist attack on Cardiff. He told the police that he had been talking to someone on Instagram for about a week. That person had told him he would go to Hell because he did not believe in Islam. That person had told him he needed to do an act of terrorism if he wanted to go to paradise.
The defendant accepted in this interview that he had posted material on Instagram about an attack on Cardiff, but claimed he did not mean any harm. He stated that he had put the hammer and knife in his bag, but he claimed to the police that he had not intended to use them to attack anybody.”
The defendant denies preparing to commit acts of terrorism and four other terrorism charges he currently faces. Thankfully, the concert happened without incident.
