In a chilling case that has shocked the nation, a Nazi-obsessed extremist has been convicted of attempting to murder an asylum seeker in what prosecutors called a carefully planned racist attack driven by a vile ideology of hate.
Hitler Tattoo and “Terrorist Manifesto”
The attacker, 32-year-old Callum Parslow, sports a tattoo of Adolf Hitler’s signature on his left arm – a disturbing sign of his neo-Nazi beliefs. After stabbing his 25-year-old victim, Eritrean asylum seeker Nahom Hagos, Parslow tried to post what the prosecution described as an “extreme rightwing terrorist manifesto” on social media.
“I just did my duty to England… I exterminated the harmful, invasive species,” Parslow wrote, comparing his actions to “a gardener tending to the great garden of England.” He railed against “the evil enemies of nature and of England” who he identified as “the Jews, the Marxists and the globalists.”
Parslow had attempted to tag far-right activist Tommy Robinson and prominent politicians in his online post. The court heard how his vile manifesto mirrored the language and twisted beliefs of other far-right terrorists.
Premeditated Racial Attack
The attack on April 2nd at a hotel in Worcestershire was far from a random act of violence. Prosecutor Tom Storey KC laid out the compelling evidence of Parslow’s premeditation and racial targeting:
- Researched hotels housing asylum seekers before the attack
- Ordered a expensive specialist knife from the US
- Googled questions like “where is the worst place to get stabbed?”
- Traveled to hotel intending to stab “one of the Channel migrants”
CCTV footage showed Parslow approaching Hagos, who was eating lunch, and asking where he was from. Upon hearing Hagos was from Eritrea, Parslow immediately drew a knife and began stabbing him in the chest and hand.
Severe Injuries and Narrow Escape
Hagos suffered an 8cm gash to his chest that penetrated the muscle and severed tendons in four fingers. Quick-thinking bystanders locked Parslow out and rushed Hagos to the hospital themselves, fearing he was losing too much blood to wait for an ambulance.
Police found Parslow walking along a canal with blood still on his hands. A search of his home uncovered neo-Nazi paraphernalia like a red swastika armband. This was not Parslow’s first offence – his tenancy had been terminated in January over a racist note he left on a communal door.
Guilty of Attempted Murder
After a three-week trial, the jury took just a few hours to find Parslow guilty of attempted murder. He had already pleaded guilty to wounding and unrelated charges of a sexual offence and malicious communications.
As he awaits sentencing, Parslow’s conviction is a stark reminder of the threat posed by virulent racism, far-right extremism and the dehumanization of immigrants and asylum seekers. Hagos, who came to the UK seeking safety, instead faced a brutal, ideology-fueled attack. His experience highlights the urgent need to combat hate, protect vulnerable asylum seekers, and unequivocally reject the poisonous ideas that motivated Parslow’s appalling crime.
