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A white supremacist who built a crude gun in his garden shed and accidentally set off a fireball in his family’s kitchen while manufacturing gunpowder has been ordered to be detained in a young offender institution for eight and a half years.

Vaughn Dolphin, 20, who had described himself as a “dangerous lunatic” in private internet chatrooms, was found guilty last month of 11 counts relating to possession of articles useful for terrorism, disseminating terrorist material, possessing explosive substances and possession of a firearm.

Birmingham crown court heard how he had ranted about his desire to shoot ethnic minorities living in the UK and had converted his family’s shed into a munitions factory for the manufacture of homemade explosives while keeping bags of bomb-making chemicals in a fridge in his bedroom.

Passing sentence, the judge Melbourne Inman KC told Dolphin: “The jury heard you were a member of extreme rightwing groups holding extreme racist ideas.”

The judge said of one of the materials found in Dolphin’s possession: “It’s an aggravating factor that you were in contact with a number of extremists and the material was a horrific recording of multiple murders.”

That was in reference to Dolphin having downloaded a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand in which Brenton Tarrant murdered 51 people. Dolphin had commented: “Shame it doesn’t have the music.”

As part of the sentence, Dolphin, from Walsall in the West Midlands, was ordered to serve an extended 12-month licence period.

During the trial, jurors were told that Dolphin had decorated his family’s shed with Nazi memorabilia and posted a series of videos on a far-right Telegram chatroom called the Segregation Wagon.

In one self-filmed video, he was seen in a gas mask surrounded by a choking cloud of smoke after attempting to blend a blast mixture in a saucepan on a domestic hob.

Dolphin spoke of causing an “awesome fireball” in videos posted on far-right chatrooms, in which he complained: “Ah the bastard fucking mixture set itself prematurely, oh my God. Next time I’ll do this outside, but, ah well, you live and learn.”

In a second online post, he boasted: “I am seen as a dangerous lunatic by most … People will get sick of Black Lives Matter and that is when violence will flare. I am going to make and sell weapons.”

Others on the Telegram channels warned Dolphin that he risked being arrested by the “Feds”, in what appeared to be a reference to the police.

In response, Dolphin said he would be safe as he had encrypted the incriminating material. He claimed he could argue that he had bought the explosive ingredients for “gardening” purposes.

An encrypted USB thumb drive found on his bedroom shelf contained a series of DIY guides on constructing a shotgun, making homemade plastic explosives and conducting arson attacks.

 

Far-right extremist who set off ‘fireball’ in his kitchen convicted of terrorism offences

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The encrypted files were found in electronic folders with the name Boogaloo, which the prosecution said was significant as it was used as a reference to “race war” in far-right circles.

When arrested in June 2022 at his grandfather’s home, the 20-year-old college student told police: “I’m not a terrorist, OK? I have an interest in chemicals and military memorabilia, that’s all.”

During his trial, a defence psychiatrist diagnosed Dolphin as having an autism spectrum disorder with particular issues with social interaction and communication. The prosecution told the jury that the mitigation was “complete and utter nonsense”.