A 21-year-old from Bangor, Aston Rees, found himself in Liverpool Crown Court after a shocking revelation: he’d been downloading terrorist documents and allegedly ‘experimenting’ with making pipebombs. Court heard he even boasted about his dangerous hobby, hiding some devices in the woods, although some have never been recovered.
Rees was found guilty on four counts of possessing terrorist-related information after documents like the Anarchists’ Cookbook were discovered on his phone, along with guides to crafting firearms and explosives. It was revealed that he shared some of this material online, including on Reddit.
Despite the grim findings, including photos of Rees in paramilitary gear and troubling friendship ties with figures like Aristedes Haynes, a convicted ex-RAF cadet, his defence argues that Rees had an obsessive interest due to autism and insists there’s no evidence he held extremist views. His family stands by him, presenting him as a “young man of good character.”
While the case continues with sentencing adjourned, the nature of Rees’s activities raises alarms. Could his tinkering have escalated into something more sinister, or was it a misguided obsession with no ill intent? Keep an eye on updates as this story unfolds!