World briefs: Brit sentenced over neo-Nazi plot to attack gay bar

Associated Press

LONDON — A British man who planned a neo-Nazi-inspired machete attack on a gay pride event has been sentenced to an indefinite stay in a psychiatric hospital.

Ethan Stables was arrested in June 2017 as he walked toward a pub in his hometown of Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England, on what prosecutors said was a reconnaissance trip. Police found an ax, a machete and a swastika flag at his home.

Prosecutors said Stables had posted on Facebook that he wanted to “slaughter every single one of the gay bastards.”

Defense lawyers said the 20-year-old, who has an autism spectrum disorder, had been influenced by right-wing extremists. But he was convicted in February of preparing an act of terrorism.

Passing sentence Wednesday, Judge Peter Collier said Stables posed “a very real risk to the public.”

(Visited 26 times, 1 visits today)