Man jailed for sharing extremist terror videos

A man has been jailed for sharing racist, neo-Nazi and antisemitic material including a video of a computer game about the Christchurch terror attack.

Zayan Lorgat, 20, pleaded guilty to four counts of disseminating a terrorist publication under the Terrorism Act 2006 at Leicester Crown Court in July.

Following a raid on his home in Grantham Road, Leicester, in October 2024, investigators seized digital devices and found Lorgat had been sharing videos and images in Telegram chats from the age of 17.

At the same court on Wednesday, Lorgat was jailed for two years and three months, given a 12-month extended licence period on his release, and his devices were ordered not to be returned.

The terrorist material he shared included several graphic videos of extreme right wing terrorist attacks, according to Counter Terrorism Policing North East, which led the operation supported by Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands and Leicestershire Police.

Judge Timothy Spencer KC said Lorgat was "posing as a white extreme right-wing sympathiser", adding: "This was not just one horrific, appalling video that you shared."

The judge told the defendant, who sat in the dock wearing a white shirt and black suit: "You were seeking validation. In street language, you were bigging yourself up."

The court heard he admitted the charges on the basis he was reckless as to whether his actions would encourage other acts of terrorism.

Prosecutor Peter Finnigan told the court Lorgat shared four videos, which he called "shock videos", from his Telegram account between May 2023 and July 2024.

On 21 May 2023, he transmitted a video clip depicting the Stephen Balliet shooting on 9 October 2019.

Extreme right-wing terrorist Balliet shot and killed a female passer-by and a man at a kebab shop after failing to break into a synagogue in Halle, Germany.

On 3 July 2024, Lorgat posted a video clip depicting the Christchurch shooting and another video of the racially-motivated shooting in Buffalo in the US, where 10 black people were killed on 14 May 2022.

The court heard he also transmitted a video clip on 16 July 2024 of a computer game showing the Christchurch terror attack, when 51 people were killed in a mass shooting at two mosques in New Zealand on 15 October 2019.

The prosecutor said when Lorgat was arrested following the raid, he admitted being the sole user of the Telegram account that shared the videos.

The court heard Lorgat told police he was not in a good mindset after his mother died, and started to "look at the world through the eyes" of a right-wing Telegram user he spoke to.

Finnigan said Lorgat continued posting extreme right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ and antisemitic material because he "got used to doing this kind of stuff without any consequences".

The prosecutor said Lorgat told police he was worried he "would lose more people who followed me if I changed my views".

When he was interviewed for a second time in February 2025, the court heard he admitted sending the videos and sought to "portray himself as a white, Aryan male online to get closer to people", adding: "They talk to me if I do."

Justin McClintock, defending, said Lorgat, who had been studying media production at De Montfort University, witnessed a "toxic" relationship between his parents, which included incidents of domestic violence.

McClintock asked the judge to consider "Mr Lorgat's tragic adolescence, his previous good character and his strong potential for rehabilitation".

Det Ch Supt James Dunkerley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said young people are "particularly susceptible to the rhetoric of extremist groups" and asked anyone with concerns for a friend of family member to contact the ACT Early website.

He said: "Sharing graphic videos of terrorist attacks not only serves to promote the cause of terrorist groups, but it may also inspire others to commit terrorist acts.

"We work tirelessly with our partners to remove extremist content and to bring those who share such content to justice."

Additional reporting by Sophie Robinson, PA

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