Man who ‘experimented’ with making firearms given suspended sentence

A 21-year-old who “experimented” with making firearms after downloading terrorist documents has been given a suspended sentence.

Ashton Rees, of Bangor, north Wales, was 17 when he downloaded the first of four documents containing instructions on making firearms and explosives, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

He was found guilty after a trial of four counts of possessing a record of information useful to terrorism after documents were found on his phone, including the Anarchists’ Cookbook.

On Wednesday, Rees was given a 12-month prison sentence with a 12-month period on licence, suspended for two years.

Judge Brian Cummings KC said he believed the suspended sentence would best “serve the public”, as he was concerned time in custody could be “potentially destructive” for Rees.

The court heard two basic devices made by Rees were discovered by police, while others were buried in woodland by him and had never been recovered.

Rupert Jones, prosecuting, said in messages Rees bragged to others about making a pipebomb.

Judge Cummings said: “In the absence of any conviction for an actual firearms offence, I do not sentence you on the basis you actually made a real firearm or real ammunition, but you certainly experimented.”

The court heard Rees had been a marine biology student in 2024 when police searched his room and found knives, skull masks and a calendar with an entry saying “kill”.

There was also evidence of a friendship between Rees and Aristedes Haynes, a former RAF cadet from South Wales who was convicted in 2023 after daubing a Windrush mural with Nazi symbols.

Rees told his trial he encountered Haynes in a group chat and at first thought of him as “being a bit ridiculous”, but they became friends.

Judge Cummings said his overall conclusion was that Rees did not have terrorist motivations.

He said Rees, who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, had a particular “fascination” with how things work, as well as an “unhealthy interest” in topics such as mass shootings and political assassinations.

In a letter to the court, his mother said his “curiosity and inventiveness” had led her son down an “illegal pathway”.

The judge said: “Through a combination of immaturity and autism you came close to crossing a line that would have led you into more serious offending, but you did not actually cross that line.”

The court heard Rees had been expelled from university after his arrest but had been working since and was now married.

He was made subject to a two-year order prohibiting him from activities including deleting his internet history and owning more than one mobile phone or accessing internet-enabled devices without informing a probation officer.

He was also ordered to carry out 60 days of rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid work.