Man pleads guilty to Wagner Group membership claims

A man from Hertfordshire has admitted to claiming to be part of Wagner Group.

Wagner Group is a proscribed military organisation.

Piotr Kucharski was convicted on 16 August of professing to be a member of the group, after amending a previous not guilty plea.

Detectives found that in October 2023, Kucharski had attended a combat and re-enactment event in Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, after previously being banned from the group.

Whilst at the event, he threatened participants and told people he was a member of Wagner Group and that he had previously fought in Ukraine.

After a disagreement with another attendee, he then made a cutthroat symbol and slashed the air with a knife.

He was initially arrested for a public order offence and possession of a bladed article. He was then subsequently re-arrested under terrorism legislation after officers found Wagner Group badges sown to his jacket.

After the investigation was passed to ERSOU’s Counter Terrorism Policing unit, Kucharski was later charged with professing to be a member of a proscribed organisation, namely The Wagner Group, contrary to section 11 (1) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Kucharski pleaded guilty to the offence at a Central Criminal Court hearing.

He will be sentenced on 1 November.

Head of ERSOU, Hannah Wilkinson said: “Kucharski was clearly intent on causing alarm and distress by feigning membership of Wagner Group, and he was promptly arrested after concerned members of the public raised the alarm about his behaviour.

“There’s no indication that Kucharski fought in Ukraine or was actually a member of Wagner Group, however pertaining to have done so is also a severe offence, particularly given he was very overt with his support for the banned group.

“Our teams work diligently to keep our region safe from the threat of terrorism, and we will continue to ensure those looking to cause harm and disruption in our communities are brought to justice.”