Pathway to Terror

From antisemitism to terrorism: Robert Taylor and the Goyim Defense League (GDL)

CST’s latest research briefing published today, titled Pathway to Terror, reveals the full story of Robert Taylor who was sentenced on Friday 18 October 2024 to 4 years in prison for nine offences relating to racial hatred, two terror offences, two offences related to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation and one case of support for a proscribed organisation. 

This prosecution came about after a two-year investigation by CST’s open-source intelligence team into Taylor’s pattern of far right and antisemitic activism around his hometown of Farnworth, Bolton. The intelligence CST pieced together was shared with police partners and led to Taylor’s conviction and imprisonment.  

Taylor is not himself a prominent figure within the UK extreme right wing; however, he was part of an international far right network, originating in the United States, called the Goyim Defense League (GDL) which has developed a reputation for shocking, overtly antisemitic public activism. This is starting to spread into the UK, with antisemitic material from GDL used in several antisemitic incidents and shared in far right online spaces. In January 2023, the leader of the GDL, Jon Minadeo, was a guest on the regular livestream show hosted by Mark Collett, leader of the Patriotic Alternative. Any indication of a growth in the influence of the GDL in the UK should be a source of concern for everyone. 

The GDL is a loose transnational, neo-Nazi collective that engages in explicitly anti-Jewish activity both online and offline. Whilst it does have an organised capacity in the United States, globally it relies on online networks and social media to bring activists together and coalesce around the GDL brand. It was this part of the GDL’s online infrastructure which Robert Taylor was a part of.  

Although the GDL has relied on fringe, alternative social media platforms, CST research shows a significant increase in their activity on X, formerly Twitter. Posts on X containing links to GDL-related websites have increased dramatically since Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform in 2022.  

The increase in GDL-related content on X has included the circulation of deeply racist, antisemitic clips of GDL leader, Jon Minadeo, from his online livestreams. These clips, often chosen for their absurdity and vulgarity, have amassed millions of views, suggesting that X is not limiting the reach of hateful content. If anything, X allows extremist groups to spread their messaging further than would be achievable on fringe, alternative platforms. 

Read the full research briefing Pathway To Terror: Robert Taylor & the GDL.