A couple in Britain who named their baby after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler have been convicted in Birmingham for being members of an extreme far-right group.
ADVERTISEMENTA couple in Britain who named their baby after Nazi leader Adolf Hitler have been convicted in Birmingham for being members of an extreme far-right group.
Adam Thomas, 22, and Claudia Patatas, 38 were found guilty of being members of National Action after a four-week trial. The organisation was banned in 2016 under the UK’s Terrorism Act after they praised the murder of the British Labour MP Jo Cox, who was shot and stabbed by a far-right supporter months earlier.
“After National Action was banned it went underground and changed its name but it did not disappear,” said Deb Walsh of the Crown Prosecution Service.
“These members continued to believe in its racist neo-Nazi world view, remained in contact on encrypted messaging apps, and organized meetings to keep the group going.”
The court heard Thomas and Patatas gave their baby son the middle name ‘Adolf’ in honour of Germany’s late Fascist leader.
Investigators uncovered pictures of Thomas cradling the boy while donning white Klu Klux Klan robes and another with the couple posing with the baby behind a swastika flag.
Police chief Matt Ward said the pair had also gathered weapons and conducted research on making explosives, including a “soft drink can bomb”.
“These individuals were not simply racist fantasists; we now know they were a dangerous, well-structured organisation,” he said.
“Their aim was to spread neo-Nazi ideology by provoking a race war in the UK and they had spent years acquiring the skills to carry this out.”
The couple are due to be sentenced next month.