Teenage Far-Right Extremist Pleads Guilty to Attempted Murder in Bristol Axe Attack
Alina Burns, an 18-year-old far-right Nazi sympathizer, has entered a guilty plea to attempted murder following a violent axe assault on an Iranian man in Bristol. The attack occurred outside a barber shop in early August last year, targeting Mohammed Mahmoodi, an Iranian Kurd, who fortunately escaped without physical injury.
Disturbing Evidence of Violent Ideology Uncovered
Upon her detention, officers discovered a scalpel and several darts in Burns' possession. She explicitly told police that she swung the axe at Mahmoodi because she "wanted to cut his neck." A subsequent search of her home revealed deeply troubling rhetoric, including an email where she wrote, "Kill all Jews and Muslims in Britain, please."
Further investigation uncovered messages in which Burns described herself as "the embodiment of hell, destined to annihilate everything holy I bear witness to." Her diaries and notebooks contained extensive notes about Adolf Hitler, and her internet search history included queries about the legal age to purchase an axe in the United Kingdom.
Links to Far-Right Group and Terrorist Rhetoric
Burns was a member of the Patriotic Alternative, a far-right organization led by neo-Nazi Holocaust denier Mark Collett. The group advocates for the removal of almost all non-white individuals from the UK, a stance Burns actively supported. In an email sent shortly before the attack, she stated, "Land is reclaimed through terror. Better if they flee out of fear rather than displace us in our own home."
Although Burns initially denied a terrorist motive, she responded "fair enough" when arrested and admitted to purchasing the axe specifically to kill Mahmoodi. Her trial for attempted murder is ongoing following her guilty plea.
Context of Far-Right Extremism in the UK
This case highlights a broader pattern of far-right radicalization among young people in Britain. Last summer, another teenage member of the Patriotic Alternative, Alfie Coleman, was apprehended by MI5 while attempting to buy a Makarov pistol and ammunition for a planned attack. Coleman, who idolized Thomas Mair—the murderer of MP Jo Cox—allegedly planned a terrorist attack targeting the Lord Mayor of London's residence in 2022.
Coleman's case, currently undergoing a retrial, involved plans for explosives, knives, and crossbows, though the attack was ultimately abandoned. These incidents underscore the ongoing threat posed by far-right extremist groups and their influence on vulnerable youth.
The prosecution of Burns and similar cases continues to draw public and legal attention to the dangers of neo-Nazi ideologies and their violent manifestations in contemporary society.
