Vaughn Dolphin: Far right extremist sentenced over home explosives

A far-right extremist who experimented with home explosives, boasted about fireballs and built a gun has been detained for eight and a half years.

Vaughn Dolphin, 20, from Walsall, filmed himself in a gas mask surrounded by smoke after blowing up his kitchen in an attempt to mix explosives.

He was convicted last month of two charges of possessing explosives as well as several terrorism offences.

Dolphin was told he would be detained at a young offenders institution.

Warning: this story contains distressing themes.

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Dolphin filmed attempts to mix explosives in his kitchen

A sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday was told Dolphin was "a member of extreme right-wing groups holding extreme racist ideas".

Dolphin's trial the month before had heard that he claimed minorities "should be shot" and he had sought out extremist conversations online, engaging with chat boards.

A raid on his home uncovered a host of Nazi-related material and a "viable" gun made from a piece of aluminium tube.

He bragged about causing an "awesome fireball" in a series of selfie videos he posted to extremist chatrooms, communicating with white supremacists, jurors were told.

"Next time I'll do this outside, but, ah well, you live and learn," he said on one of them.

He also posted to chatrooms about creating a hand-held "cannon" and talked about mixing gunpowder.

Dolphin, from the Aldridge area of Walsall borough, additionally shared footage of terrorist incidents from around the world including a gun attack in Buffalo, New York, in which 10 people were killed by a white supremacists in May last year.

Sentencing on Thursday, Judge Melbourne Inman KC told him: "It's an aggravating factor that you were in contact with a number of extremists" and had dealt in content featuring "an horrific recording of multiple murders".

Paraphernalia found at Dolphin's property "related to making items that could be used to kill or seriously injure people", the judge added.

The offences were committed over a three-month period, the hearing was told.

Dolphin was convicted of six offences of possessing terrorist information, two of recklessly disseminating a terrorist publication, two of having an explosive substance and one of possessing a firearm without a licence.

He was also handed a 12-month extended period on licence to be added to the end of the detention term.

He was told he would not become eligible for parole until he had served five years.

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HM Courts & Tribunals Service