--- born: 2003 category: Extremism & Violent Networks created: 2026-05-22 location: Rugby, Warwickshire, England summary: Paul Dunleavy was a 17-year-old from Rugby convicted in October 2020 at Birmingham Crown Court of preparing neo-Nazi acts of terrorism by distributing firearm-conversion manuals to Feuerkrieg Division members, including to the Lithuanian member who later planted a bomb in Vilnius. tags: - Person - FeuerkriegDivision - NeoNazi - Accelerationism - UK - TerroristConviction - UKTerrorism updated: 2026-05-22 --- Paul Dunleavy, 17, of Rugby, Warwickshire, was convicted on 6 October 2020 by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court of preparing acts of terrorism between April and September 2019, making him one of the youngest people convicted of terrorism-related offences in the United Kingdom. He was sentenced to five years and six months' detention by Judge Paul Farrer QC, with a concurrent two years for possessing terrorist documents.[^1] ### Activity and FKD Membership Dunleavy joined [Feuerkrieg Division](/organizations/feuerkrieg-division/) while 14 years old and became an active participant in its encrypted online networks. His primary criminal activity was the distribution of detailed firearm-conversion manuals and the provision of operational advice on building functional firearms from legally purchased components to other FKD members. The judge described his advice and encouragement to fellow members as "significant."[^2] The trial revealed that three FKD members to whom Dunleavy had provided assistance were subsequently convicted of terrorist offences in Germany, Lithuania, and the United States. The Lithuanian connection is documented in other sources as relating to [Gediminas Beržinskas](/people/gediminas-beržinskas/), who placed a homemade explosive device outside a Western Union office in Vilnius in October 2019 and was convicted by Vilnius Regional Court in September 2020. Dunleavy's provision of bomb-making guidance and firearm-conversion advice to Beržinskas and others established his culpability for the broader conspiracy.[^2] ### Arrest and Conviction Dunleavy was first identified through investigative intelligence and was arrested by counter-terrorism investigators in connection with the FKD network. His trial at Birmingham Crown Court was a jury trial rather than a guilty-plea proceeding, distinguishing it from most other UK FKD cases. He was unanimously convicted. The court heard evidence about his extensive collection of ideological texts, his participation in FKD's encrypted communications, and the cross-national impact of the firearms guidance he had distributed.[^1] At sentencing, Judge Farrer noted Dunleavy's autism as a factor but said it did not diminish the seriousness of his offences or the real-world danger he created. The judge's characterization of autism as having contributed to an "obsessional interest in firearms" was noted in press coverage and is factually contested by disability researchers.[^1] ### Transnational Causal Chain Dunleavy's case is the most clearly documented instance of transnational criminal causation within the FKD network: a UK teenager advising a Lithuanian member whose subsequent bombing constituted one of the first FKD-linked acts of political violence in Europe. The 2021 sentencing by a UK court of a British teenager for providing advice to a Lithuanian terrorist who had already been convicted in Lithuania also represented an early example of parallel prosecution across European jurisdictions in FKD cases.[^3] [^1]: Express and Star. "Boy, 17, sentenced to detention for preparing neo-Nazi acts of terrorism." November 6, 2020. https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/11/06/boy-17-sentenced-to-detention-for-preparing-neo-nazi-acts-of-terrorism/; Anadolu Agency. "UK sentences youngest far-right terrorist." https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/uk-sentences-youngest-far-right-terrorist/2137742 [^2]: Far-Right Criminals. "Rugby teenager Paul Dunleavy jailed for terror offences." November 6, 2020. https://far-rightcriminals.com/2020/11/06/rugby-teenager-paul-dunleavy-jailed-for-terror-offences/; Campaign Against Antisemitism. "Teenager from Rugby linked to neo-Nazi groups jailed for terror offences." https://antisemitism.org/teenager-from-rugby-linked-to-neo-nazi-groups-jailed-for-terror-offences [^3]: LRT. "Britain sentences teenager who 'advised' Lithuanian neo-Nazi terrorist." 2021. https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/1274096/britain-sentences-teenager-who-advised-lithuanian-neo-nazi-terrorist