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Met Police

A self-proclaimed Satanist who claimed he made a pact with a "red-horned devil" has been found guilty of having extreme right-wing material.

Former Brit school of Performing Arts student Declan George Candiani, 26, was stopped by counter-terrorism police at Stansted Airport as he attempted to go on holiday to Finland with his girlfriend, on 13 August 2024.

On seeing the contents of his phone, officers arrested him and searched the home he shares with his mother in Streatham, south-west London.

An examination of Candiani's devices revealed a cache of extreme right-wing material including "manifestos" of mass killers and documents advocating the use of serious violence to achieve white supremacy.

'Pact with the devil'

Candiani denied wrongdoing and claimed he was mainly interested in Satanism and the occult.

On Friday, he was found guilty of two charges of collection of information likely to be useful for terrorism and acquitted of two similar offences.

Judge Nigel Lickley KC granted Candiani continued bail ahead of sentencing in November.

During the trial, jurors had heard details of the "horrific" material Candiani had on his devices.

In a police interview, Candiani claimed he had downloaded material after becoming interested in the Satanism group Order of Nine Angles, which has been linked with right-wing extremism.

Giving evidence in court, Candiani described being visited by a "red-horned devil" in his bedroom who told him: "You see me now Declan, you worship me."

He told jurors he agreed to be his "minion" saying: "I did literally make a pact with the devil."

The court was told that Candiani's mental health suffered and he went down a "rabbit hole" after his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

The defendant told jurors: "At that time I was dealing a lot with my mum and just hated the world and I was very angry and upset and hated everything and everyone."

'Downloaded inadvertently'

Candiani accepted that he had a tattoo on his chest bearing the neo-Nazi symbol "88" - code for the phrase "Heil Hitler".

He also admitted applying to join a right-wing extremist group, Active Club, but said he got "cold feet".

Candiani told jurors he was not interested in terror attacks or hurting anyone.

He said he did not remember looking at a lot of the terrorist material, and said it must have been downloaded "inadvertently".

Candiani was assessed by psychiatrists who found he had a "mild personality disorder" and was fit to stand trial.

Jurors deliberated for nine hours and 18 minutes to reach their verdicts.

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