A teenage Islamic convert has pleaded guilty to encouraging terrorism after admitting that he shared graphic ISIS videos on TikTok ‘for the likes.’
Leo Walby, 19, from Crockenhill, near Swanley in Kent claimed it was ‘cool’ to share ISIS propaganda on social media sites after converting to Islam 18 months earlier.
When he was arrested, the autistic teenager said he was just following a ‘trend’ that everyone else was doing and thought it would be ‘exciting’ to join in.
He told police that he had ‘jumped on the bandwagon’ sharing videos ‘for the likes.’
Today, Walby admitted encouraging terrorism by sharing ISIS propaganda videos on a Telegram channel in July last year.
He pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to six charges of dissemination of a terrorist publication and being ‘reckless’ as to ‘direct or indirect encouragement or other inducement to the commission of acts of terrorism’.
Walby shared a series of clips on TikTok and Telegram, including one entitled ‘Yes we are terrorists’ and another was called, ‘Don’t I only die once’.
The teenager was said to have a significant number of followers on social media platforms.
Leo Walby pleaded guilty to charges related to ISIS videos posted on TikTok and Telegram
He regularly shared ISIS videos and posted Islamist extremist material between July 9 and August 23 despite the platforms banning extremist content.
The videos contained graphic violence and sought to encourage others to join the terror group.
In July last year, Walby posted messages on Telegram asking for money to support women in the Al-Hol detention camp for female ISIS prisoners in Northern Syria, providing PayPal details.
Weeks later, he used the black ISIS flag as the logo for his Telegram channel.
Police searched Walby’s home on October 4 and seized his mobile phone.
On arrest, the defendant told police that he was ‘going through a phase’ whereby he thought the war was cool and entertaining, claiming ISIS had sparked his interest.
When his accounts were banned, he created new accounts with similar names to continue posting material, he told officers.
Walby said he was ‘not fussed’ who viewed it, because it was ‘just exciting.’
The teenager admitted he knew what he was posting could be illegal and that other people could be misled and encouraged by it.
On October 2, he messaged six users directing them to go to a channel using the name Millatu Ibrahim, an Islamist organisation that is banned in Germany.
The next day, he posted an extremist video about martyrdom in Afghanistan.
Today, Walby appeared by video link from Wormwood Scrubs prison and entered pleas on the basis that he was ‘reckless’ as to whether he was encouraging terrorism.
He also pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a notice under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act.
Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said: ‘Our investigation found that Walby was sharing various pieces of terrorist material across a number of social media accounts he was controlling. This kind of content can be extremely harmful, so where we identify people like Walby who are responsible for this, then we will take action and he is now facing the very serious consequences of doing this.
‘I’d encourage anyone who comes across extremist or terrorist material online to report it to our specialist team who will review to determine whether further police action is necessary and appropriate.’
Judge Anthony Leonard, KC, adjourned sentencing until next month.
