A close friend of the ultra-right sentenced to five years in prison for planning violent action

The Paris criminal court sentenced a supporter of the ultra-right to five years in prison on the night of Friday to Saturday, November 4. Alexandre E., a 20-year-old Mosellan, was found guilty of“individual terrorist enterprise” for planning violent action. At the end of an extended hearing, the chamber specializing in terrorism cases also imposed two years of socio-judicial monitoring on him and an ineligibility of 25 years.

Monitored by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) for his exchanges on Telegram, Alexandre E. was arrested near Metz in September 2022 and placed in pre-trial detention, shortly after the report of a military friend. The latter, who seemed to share the same political ideas, was worried after the disappearance in his regiment of an HK416 assault rifle, even though he knew of Alexandre E.’s fascination with weapons.

Evocation of an attack on a pride march

According to this soldier, the defendant regularly expressed his desire to commit violent action, at times mentioning an attack on an LGBT+ pride march, at others a mosque. The investigation also did not make it possible to establish a specific project that Alexandre E. would have fomented, but the court considered that his desire to take action was clear. In addition to frequenting neo-Nazi Telegram channels, he learned about the manufacture of explosives, even acquiring equipment and carrying out tests, while making extremely violent comments.