A bomb-maker who had a dartboard featuring images of Barack Obama, the Duchess of Cambridge, Justin Bieber and Cheryl Tweedy has been jailed for five years.
Matthew Glynn, 37, had an arsenal of weapons including Samarai swords, axes and knives at his home in Horfield, Bristol.
He kept a viable improvised explosive device (IED) – which posed a threat to life – underneath his bed.
Matthew Glynn, 37, kept this dartboard covered with images of people he hated at his home in Bristol. These included Barack Obama (bottom right), the Duchess of Cambridge (top right), Sheryl Tweedy (top left) and Justin Bieber (bottom). All these photos are undated
More than 13lbs of explosive powders, as well as other chemical used for bomb making, were stashed in his property.
Glynn also bought a Wolverine-style weapon with four sharp blades, described as ‘horrific’ by police.
Bristol Crown Court heard a colleague tipped off police after visiting Glynn at his home in July.
Rachel Drake, prosecuting, said: ‘He went straight to the defendant’s bedroom and saw a vast array of weapons.
‘He also saw a dartboard with pictures of Muslim people upon it and Mr Glynn said he had a dart board of ‘people I hate’.
‘Mr Glynn gave a tour of his weapons, describing their origin and use.
Glynn is seen in an undated mug shot provided by Avon and Somerset Police
‘The following day at work, Mr Glynn joked that he had had him sat on a bomb when he had been sat on the bed.’
The colleague, James Grogan, did not believe Glynn at first but later reported the claim to police.
Officers attended at Howdens Joinery, where Glynn worked, on July 23 and he insisted it had been a joke.
But when police asked to check his home, Glynn said he was worried about his collection of swords and axes.
He then asked officers: ‘If I do have something, will it be classed as a terror incident?’
Mr Grogan described Glynn as being an anxious man who demonstrated ‘racist and homophobic views’.
The area around Glynn’s home was evacuated while explosives experts examined what was inside.
Glynn’s bed was x-rayed and a bomb, containing explosives, ball bearings and nails, was discovered.
Ms Drake said experts concluded the device ‘would have posed a threat to life’ if it had been detonated.
Glynn admitted five charges under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 at a hearing in October. Pictured: A box of homemade explosives
Hateful far-right social media posts of loner who joined Plenty Of Fish and moaned, ‘I hate life and I think life hates me’
Matthew Glynn regularly took to Facebook to vent his hateful far-right views and talk about his single life.
‘Well I am on pof and still no luck,’ he wrote in April 2012 after joining Plenty of Fish. In August that year he added: ‘Any nice women out there in Bristol fancy going 4 a drink some?’ [sic]
In September 2013, he appears to have become depressed, posting: ‘I hate life and i think life hates me’.
Glynn’s profile photo on Facebook. He also regularly shared images of his weapons collection
Glynn spent much of his time on Facebook talking about life as a single man
In March the following year, he posted again to say he was still looking for someone to date, writing: ‘Anyone out there think I handsome, hands up,’ he wrote.
Another post Glynn shared on Facebook
Two other comments about dating followed later that year, the Bristol Post found.
October 2014 saw his last post for nearly a year, with the enigmatic: ‘At last the zombies are coming, let the fun begin’.
When he returned in August 2015 he was more overtly political, regularly airing anti-Muslim views and showing off his collection of weapons.
He liked posts from the far-right group Britain First, many about the refugee crisis, and shared a post from Austria calling for mosques to be banned.
In November 2016, he changed his cover photo to an image of a spiked knuckle-duster, and later posted an image of him holding a torch in a darkened room.
There were pots containing more than 13lbs of explosives at Glynn’s home, as well as other handmade devices.
One was a tennis ball filled with explosive powder, which could have been used as a grenade.
Glynn also possessed books, leaflets and notes detailing how to make bombs and throw knives, the court heard.
‘It was an extremely large arsenal,’ Ms Drake said.
‘In interview, he said it was his intention at some point to go to an open space to ignite them to see what damage they could do.’
She said he did not have an explanation for the dartboard of people he hated found at his home and denied he still held views expressed online.
Officers found right-wing material – including posts by Britain First – on the former carpenter’s Facebook profile.
Glynn also bought a Wolverine-style weapon with four sharp blades, described as ‘horrific’ by police
Samarai swords that were found among an arsenal of weapons at the home
‘The Facebook pages demonstrate an element of Islamophobia and general racial hatred,’ Ms Drake told the court.
One posts suggested school trips to mosques should be banned, while another called for the death penalty for serial killers, paedophiles and terrorists.
Glynn admitted to police that he had held extreme right-wing views but now found them ‘wrong and disgusting’.
Ramin Pakrooh, representing Glynn, questioned why his client’s Facebook postings had been raised in court.
‘There’s a number of views expressed within his Facebook page such as views on immigration,’ Mr Pakrooh said.
‘That is absolutely a matter for him and is absolutely not for this court to censure these views unless these views have resulted in him breaking the law.’
Glynn kept a viable improvised explosive device (IED) – which posed a threat to life – underneath his bed
An x-ray image of the IED, which shows it was stuffed full of shrapnel, including metal nails
Mr Pakrooh said Glynn ‘objected’ to his dartboard being referred to as a ‘Muslim board’ by prosecutors.
The board featured images of Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Cheryl Tweedy, the Duchess of Cambridge and a Somali boy.
An undated selfie taken by Glynn and posted on Facebook
‘It was a board for people he hated,’ Mr Pakrooh said.
‘I don’t think any of the images on that board have escaped having darts thrown at them.’
Glynn had been collecting weapons for about 20 years and treated them as a ‘hobby’, his barrister said.
The court heard Glynn had no previous convictions.
He admitted five charges under the Explosive Substances Act 1883 at a hearing in October.
Sentencing Glynn to five years in prison, Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, said the defendant had expressed ‘hated of others’.
He described his Facebook postings as ‘haphazard and irregular’.
The terrifying collection of knives and axes that Glynn stashed inside his property in Bristol
A homemade grenade made by Glynn was one of the many dangerous weapons uncovered by police alongside other explosive devices
‘The really concerning elements of this case were the two bombs which were seized,’ the judge said.
‘One of them had ball bearings and nails in it and the other had ball bearings on it.’
The judge ordered for the bombs and related material to be destroyed.
A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: ‘Matthew Glynn was charged with making an explosive device, possession of a regulated substance and possession of a prohibited weapon.
‘The case failed to meet the evidential test to charge any terrorism offences.’
Chemicals found in Glynn’s garden, which may have been used to manufacture the homemade explosives
Police closed off Filton Avenue in the north of Bristol and carried out a controlled explosion after raiding Glynn’s home in July