A 33-year-old man has been handed a two-year suspended prison sentence after he was found to have exchanged messages with the infamous far-right soldier Jürgen Conings about carrying out a potential terror attack.
Conings had stolen weapons from the Bourg-Léopold barracks in May 2021 before disappearing. A manhunt followed Conings' farewell letter which included threats of violence towards various public figures. He eventually committed suicide while being chased by police in a nearby forest.
However, the ensuing investigation revealed that Conings had established a network of like-minded individuals, among whom was 33-year-old Anthony A.
He was already known by authorities, having been charged with assault and drug offences. He was also known to collect Nazi memorabilia and had a swastika tattoo on his back.
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Anthony A. initially denied that he had sent these messages, but eventually admitted that he did not know that he had sent them to Jürgen Conings.
He also qualified his statement by denying that he had intended to harm anyone, nor that he had passed on any concrete information, according to his lawyer.
Nonetheless, the court ruled on Monday that Anthony A. "knowingly and intentionally joined a fringe discussion group to commit an attack."
