Anzac Day Parade
Australian war veterans march during an ANZAC Day parade marking the 100th anniversary of the formation of the ANZAC alliance in Sydney, Australia, April 25, 2015. ANZAC, which stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, formed on April 25, 1915 as Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. Reuters/Jason Reed

The English teenage boy from Blackburn, Lancashire, who was arrested for plotting a mass killing at the Anzac Day Parade, has been hailed as a hero on Twitter, a court heard. It could have led to the deaths of many people if his plans weren't uncovered on time. The boy had gained around 24,000 followers within only weeks of joining the social networking site on January.

The huge popularity on Twitter, where he was regarded as a mascot by fellow Islamic State sympathisers, gave a boost to his otherwise dejected social life. This led him to plot the Anzac Day parade terror, from his parent’s suburban home.

The court also heard that the boy, who has not been named due to security reasons, had encouraged a Melbourne man to execute the plan. Reportedly, he had previously threatened to cut the throat of his teacher.

The 15-year-old is Britain’s youngest terrorist charged for inciting terrorism was also nicknamed “The Terrorist” for his extremist views. According to his lawyers, his actions were no doubt dangerous but cannot be considered dangerous any longer.

The boy’s followers on Twitter were mainly from an online group of sympathisers of the Islamic State, known as the “Baqiya family.” The member of this online subculture offer each other support and encouragement in the propagation of radicalism.

There were a number Twitter accounts that were created and operated by him, but they were deactivated because of their radical content. However, he kept creating new accounts with variants of his name “Kuniya.”

Alexandra Bain, a Canadian expert on the radicalisation of Muslim youths, said in a statement before the court that he was regarded, somewhat, as a mascot amongst his followers. He used the platform to vent out his frustrations at what he thought to be atrocities against his fellow Muslims.

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