A 17-year-old male was sentenced to 11 years in prison last week after being found guilty of plotting a terrorist attack at a Justin Bieber concert in Cardiff, Wales last June.
Lloyd Gunton was arrested on June 30, 2017 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium after a police investigation found he had uploaded terror-related posts to his Instagram.
Police discovered his password for the photo sharing app was “truck attack,” and found one post that read “May Allah bring terrorism to Cardiff on 30th June.” Gunton’s internet history also included searches for “how to carry out a vehicle ramming attack,” how to stab and kill,” "how to create a terror attack,” and he had reportedly looked into Bieber’s security arrangements for the concert.
At the time of his arrest, Gunton was found with a knife and a hammer in his backpack, along with a "martyrdom letter" that said he was a "soldier of the Islamic state" and "more attacks will follow.”
Gunton was ultimately found guilty in November of one charge of engaging in the preparation of a terrorist act, two charges of encouraging terrorism and two charges of possessing terrorist information.
South Wales Police
The teen denied all charges against him and reportedly told the court he had no intention of actually carrying out the attacks.
After sentencing, Judge Mark Wall said Gunton's diagnosis of autism made him "something of a loner and someone more easily impressed by the things you read on the internet."