Man jailed for praising Wagner group at Viking event

A builder has been jailed for claiming to have fought for the Wagner group in Ukraine while holding a knife at a Viking re-enactment event.

Piotr Kucharski, 49, of The Glebe, Watford, wore combat clothing and badges with the insignia of the Russian mercenary group at the historic event in Stonham Aspal, Suffolk.

He was arrested after becoming aggressive, waving a dagger at attendees and making a throat-slitting gesture on October 28 last year.

At London’s Old Bailey on Friday, Kucharski was jailed for two-and-a-half years with an additional year on extended license for declaring himself a member of a banned terrorist organisation.

The Wagner Group was banned as a terrorist organization in September 2023, making it a crime to belong to or support the group in the UK.

“cause a reaction”

Witnesses at the Viking event said the Polish national, who lived in Britain, told them he had joined the Wagner group and fought for the organization in Ukraine.

He had repeated the same claim in several Facebook posts and messages to contacts.

In an interview with police, Kucharski said he purchased Wagner Group badges and attached them to his clothing to “provoke a reaction” from people at the reenactment event because of differences of opinion about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In August, Kucharski admitted to the crime before posing for a photo for an AP reporter while wearing symbols associated with far-right ideology and white supremacy.

A picture of Adolf Hitler, a copy of Mein Kampf and other fascist memorabilia were found at the home.

“A serious crime”

Kucharski had previously claimed he was only “pretending” to be a member of the terrorist organization when he pleaded guilty.

The judge rejected a claim that Kucharski acted out of a “crazy privation” to provoke a backlash.

Counter-terrorism police said there was no evidence to suggest Kucharski was a legitimate member of the Wagner Group or had fought in Ukraine, but that claiming to be a member of a banned organization was a serious offense under terrorism laws .

Frank Ferguson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Piotr Kucharski claimed to be fighting for the Wagner Group as part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and aggressively threatened people with a knife, acting on the basis of his extremist views and reputation as a terrorist organization . to cause fear in others.

“The CPS will always seek to prosecute those who support terrorism in any way.”

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